An Odd Introduction
by bandcrazy01
Summary: Happens after Serpents Shadow and Mark of Athena. When Percy and Annabeth fall in the cave, they find themselves in an weird hall with multi-colored beings staring at them. Only the smurf finds a solution to this problem. OCs. Mainly focused on the Kane Chronicles.
1. Chapter 1

**I got curious and made a scenerio to which House of Hades isn't involved. Rather a crossover.**

**This will be changing into different points of view. Sorry about OOCs. OCs are involved throughout, meeting new people keeps a story interesting in my opinion.**

-Percy Jackson-

"Uh, do you recall anything about where we are?" Annabeth asked.

"No, but it looks like we are back on Earth." I peered around us and blocked the sun's rays trying to blind me with my right arm. "Are we in Vegas?"

"No, the air is far dustier than Nevada." Annabeth pointed out as she stood up and looked around. "Wait, i-is that a pyramid?"

I struggled to get on my feet, still a bit dizzy. "Not sure. But the next time we see that smurf, I'm going to complain about his teleporting skills."

"Hey, he helped us, just remember that." Annabeth defended. "Wait, he said something about us seeking the help of some young king."

"Yeah, okay. Good luck finding one." I rolled my eyes out of irritation. "So, I wonder why Nico couldn't get through and we did?"

"I have a feeling we walked through a hole in the underworld. But I'm still at a loss as to why he couldn't go through." Annabeth confirmed I was not the only one.

Before I could say anything, we managed to be surrounded by at least twenty strange men and women. Why strange you may ask. The men and women were running around in loincloths, women with a top of course. They were all dark colored and yelling at Annabeth and I in an odd dialect. In addition, had staffs and boomerangs to threat.

I turn to Annabeth for any ideas as how to react. She gave me a roll of her eyes and raised her hands. "We come in peace! My name is Annabeth Chase, and this is Percy Jackson."

Some gave us an odd look, probably don't understand English. "Where the hell are we?" I complained aloud, earning a scowl from my girlfriend.

"Cairo, Egypt." A girl took a step forward, only holding a staff that she now held vertically with judging eyes. "How do you not know when you made a portal to get here in the first place?" She demanded.

I shrugged to her question, which apparently was the wrong answer for she looked ready to take us out. "Uh," Annabeth stood at a loss.

"What's with the boomerangs?" I asked, earning Annabeth some time to think.

The girl, roughly our age, could not help but smile. "They're wands, moron."

"Um, are you the only one who can speak English?" Annabeth asked finally.

"Of this small group, yes." She replied.

"And which one is the leader?" I asked.

Her eyes narrowed. "I am."

I stood frozen, was I wrong to think she was too young for such a responsibility? "Well, we found ourselves in a sticky situation." Annabeth started. "Percy and I are lost, and we actually have a group of friends looking for us. Could you point us to the nearest train station or dock?"

She laughed to her words. "No, but I will bring you to the Chief Lector." She finalized and faced the group, speaking in that weird language that most likely were instructions for them. "Come, I'll lead the way."

Therefore, we followed. What else are we supposed to do? Stand around and pretend we did not hear her? Yeah right, if she is the leader she must have something hidden under that smile of hers. "You haven't told us your name." I mentioned.

"Zia Rashid, now stop asking questions and keep up." She instructed hastily.

We did as asked to find ourselves in a closet in the airport. "Uh, what are we doing here?" I asked after a few seconds.

"Quiet, the mortals can still hear you through the door." She scolded and spoke towards the back wall.

After a few seconds, I started to wonder what kind of drugs she was currently on. That was until the doorway appeared before us. She gestured us to follow her down the hall into what almost reminded me of what the inside of a castle would look like. However, the bricks were with a yellow hue, sandstone rather than stone.

There were crowds of people similar to the rest, but it made sense now knowing where we are. Zia stopped to face us before a very large door. "You are about to enter the Hall of Ages." She started, sounding like the beginning of a lecture. "You must _stay_ on the carpet, do not wander off. Chief Lector Kane will otherwise have my head if one of yours explodes."

"Sounds fairly dangerous." I added, earning Annabeth's elbow to my side and a glare from Zia.

"It is if you don't listen." Zia confirmed and opened the door.

I may have traveled to some weird places, but I think this one topped them all. Images flashed all around us as Zia ignored them and continued down the carpet. I was tempted to look and see what they were about when Annabeth urged me to keep going.

"Ah, Zia!" A male voice spoke with much appreciation, _and_ in English. "I was just about to summon you; the Twenty-First Nome is apparently requiring your attention."

Zia huffed to his words as Annabeth and I took the odd man in. It was a throne room, and he was sitting on the stairs before the throne. Wearing red sunglasses, braids with red beads, and a red suit and fedora to match. He beats any girl with the obsession with pink with his red. "Amos, I think you know _who_ I will be yelling at next." She started.

He simply chuckled. "So, these two are the new messengers?" He stood up and approached us, kind smile towards us. "I think Carter needs to stop slacking and attend his duty rather than send initiates to pick up his paperwork."

"Uh, Chief Lector?" Zia spoke with a hint of nervousness. "I don't believe these two were sent here by Carter."

"What makes you say that?" Amos wondered.

"New York!" I announced, earning everyone's eyes. "Sorry, I was just trying to identify your accent." I admitted.

This Chief Lector dude grinned. "Ah yes, I should actually visit Brooklyn House soon."

"Amos." Zia's voice warned quickly.

"Brooklyn House?" Annabeth asked. "I've never heard of it."

He faced Zia abruptly. "Well, looks like you are right." He admitted. "But, uh, how certain _are_ you that they are magicians?"

"They walked through a portal." Zia explained.

His eyes narrowed as he sat back in his spot on the stairs. "Well, too late, they know already. So, I'm Chief Lector Amos Kane of the Per Ankh." He introduced quickly. "But call me Amos; I'm so sick of 'Chief Lector' all the time."

"You are _far_ too casual for this job." Zia commented with another roll of her eyes.

"Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon." I started.

"Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena." My girlfriend added.

His focus was completely set on us now, Zia became nervous now. "Uh, Amos?" She finally asked.

He cleared his throat, eyes still with hidden anger. "Did you make the portal that sent you here?" He asked.

"No." Annabeth answered, I was getting ready for a fight at any given signal.

"Who did?" He continued; his words ready to send judgment upon the poor soul responsible for this mess.

"A smurf." I answered tensely.

He was thrown off by that for a few seconds before cracking up. "Well, I honestly never thought much about it. I suppose a smurf would be the best way to describe my brother, wouldn't it?"

"That creepy dude is your brother?" My eyebrows rose.

"Why were you in the Duat? Are Greeks looking into messing with our ways again?" Amos spoke coldly. "I will warn you, such an action will result in war like last time."

Zia gasped. "Greeks?"

"Uh, Amos?" Annabeth is nervous, and I suppose anyone playing diplomat, without any clue really as to where to step safely, would be. "We are honestly not sure what is going on. That's why Zia brought us before you, see if you could help."

He sighed to relax a second. "Zia, you're dismissed."

She bowed and left, leaving us with the weird American/Egyptian man named Amos. "Before I even ask," he decided to speak in a more casual tone than when around Zia, "do you two even know anything between Greece and Egypt?"

"Honestly, no." I spoke plainly.

"I know only pieces." Annabeth confirmed.

Amos shook his head. "It's always the same; get stuck with teaching history lessons." He grumbled. "Did Julius say anything to you?"

"Is that his name?" Annabeth asked.

"Yes, that's my brother." He confirmed.

"Something about finding a young king." I recalled easily.

Amos muttered under his breath, making sure we couldn't hear it. "How did you end up in the mess?"

"It's kind of a long story-" I started.

"I'm a Kane; long stories are an everyday thing." Amos informed.

Annabeth sighed. "Well, we managed to partner up with the Romans to fight Gaia, who is Mother Earth in mortal terms."

He nodded. "I've been read into Greek and Roman history. She is more like Apophis to us."

Don't know who that is, but it seemed he knew the idea that we all have our own brand of Gods. "We have a friend, Nico de Angelo, son of Hades. We just rescued him literally hours ago, and he said there was a gate to the underworld that Gaia seems to be guarding and letting monsters out. He thinks it was Tartarus because he was stuck in there. But, due to some odd turn of events, Percy and I fell through and found ourselves meeting Julius."

"And did he ask you the same questions that I am?" He wondered.

"No, he just gave instructions and pushed us through that weird door." I confirmed.

"That's a portal. Magicians usually have sand portals. Julius is, um, a special case." Amos clarified. "And it sounds like I will need to confer with him. Perhaps this has occurred before without it being written down. But only Osiris would know." He thought for half a minute before standing. "For now, I will have you escorted to whatever spare rooms we have. We will talk again. But for now, lay low and don't seek out your surroundings yet." His eyes stayed on Annabeth, as if he knew she was the only one wise enough to heed his warnings rather than me.

"Thank you for understanding." Annabeth even threw in a bow, which I hesitated to follow.

He waved it away as he sat down on the stairs again. "I should add more to my list of instructions." He started warily. "You two are demigods from the sound of it. Have special little abilities thrown in because of it. _Don't_ use them; you will create panic and confusion. I have enough to put up with; don't add that to my list."


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Kane Chronicles or Percy Jackson.**

-Carter Kane-

"There you are!" Julius/Osiris cheered to my answering of his call. "I was beginning to wonder if you were too far into sleep!"

He seemed nervous, which the last time was when he summoned the five days out. Moreover, if Osiris is upset, something is going down. Therefore, I ignore his weird joke that didn't make sense and took a step forward. Yeah, you heard me, _I_ took a step. Amos gave Sadie and I some tips on how to morph our ba's into looking like us rather than chickens.

"Where are we?" I asked as I took in an obelisk nearby.

"This is where Apophis' shadow was pinned." He answered quickly. "But that isn't important at the moment. Do you remember your fight with the serpent?"

"Yeah, but we managed to defeat him using his shadow." I reminded.

"Only banished him deeper in the Duat." He corrected. "Anyways, the use of his shadow to banish him apparently has side effects."

"What do you mean?" I grew nervous.

"His banishment managed to tear a hole in the Duat." He started.

"Tore a hole?" My eyes widened.

"Yes, and I believe it is in between the Greek's Underworld and our Duat." He continued.

"Hold on," I could not believe my ears, "Greeks?"

"Did Amos not catch you up on that?" His right eyebrow rose.

"It's been a few weeks since we've talked." I admitted.

"Well then, I'll rush through the details. You already know that Egyptian Gods exist. Moreover, I use to show you a few books describing Greek's mythology. They exist as well, but not as powerful as the ones we put up with. They are actually quite weaker than we are, yet surprisingly they have managed to defeat us before. Their Gods do not take up hosts; in fact, they have offspring to continue their lines of belief. The Romans follow the same concept."

"A lot to digest." I commented. "So, how big of a threat is this hole?"

My father frowned. "The last time it happened, it led to Greeks naming _our_ Gods their way and screwing up their minds with split personalities. The Per Ankh was obviously irritated by it and sent Cleopatra, who was Pharaoh at the time, to fix it. Well, she tried to look into how to mend the different personalities to save the Gods rather than start a war. It didn't work, and her Chief Lector urged war. It turned out to be a major mistake because hosts could not reach their Gods and obviously, the Gods themselves were busy fighting within themselves to aid. In the destruction, Cleopatra somehow managed to access Isis and preformed Ma'at. It backfired miserably and flooded Alexandria."

"In other words, very big." I summed up, grumbling to myself.

"During their invasion, the Per Ankh went into hiding, therefore sealing the hole from the Greeks. However, the Per Ankh is still in hiding from the world, so I'm certain it won't work again." Julius continued. "We must seek another way to seal it up before mayhem takes hold again."

"Does Amos know anything about this?" I asked.

Julius grinned. "He drilled it in my head, I'm sure he knows more than I do."

"Oh, I thought Osiris was the one that told you." I admitted.

"Oh no, he's kind of in slumber mode at the moment. He does not like this place, not many do. It is pulsed with Chaos thanks to Apophis; I just minimized it so we could talk. Anyways, two Greek demigods fell through the hole two hours ago. I sent them to Cairo, but they are awaiting you."

"Why?" I started to get nervous myself.

"You're the Pharaoh; it's your duty to lead through crisis. Besides, I'm sure Amos is plotting to kill them while he has the chance." He reminded.

"But that will lead to war again."

"Exactly, you must do what Cleopatra couldn't." Julius confirmed my worst fear.

"And what makes you think history won't repeat itself?" I judged.

"The three Kanes have already turned history on its hilt and made a new world for the Per Ankh. You can still add to it, there are no limits to your changes." Julius pepped. "If you need to, remind Amos of Cleopatra; that should get him to shut up."

I woke up with a hint of nausea as I sat up. Sick with the idea of what was to follow. We already put up with Set and Apophis, now Greeks? I got up once it started to clear and headed to the veranda to find Sadie and Walt the only ones awake. "What time is it?" I asked.

"Five." Walt answered instantly. "Can't sleep either?"

"I could, but I received a rude awakening." I explained as I sat at the table to join them.

"Same with us apparently." Sadie grumbled. "Isis and Anubis."

I wondered if they had an idea of what was going on. "Our dad told me some rather disturbing news." I started, earning alarmed looks from them. "I'll be leaving this morning for the First Nome."

"What is going on?" Sadie asked, worry crept into her voice.

"I have to attend my Pharaoh duties." I summed up; I wasn't sure how to approach the topic on our situation. "You two managed to speak with them?"

"Yeah, both were pretty panicky. Something about preparing for war." Walt explained. "Have you had a chance to talk with Horus yet?"

"No, he'll show when he wants to." I shrugged it off. "I called yesterday for Zia, so she can take over my classes. Will you be okay during that?"

Sadie laughed. "I deal with you, Zia is nothing comparable."


	3. Chapter 3

-Amos Kane-

"Oh good, you finally decided to owe your uncle a visit?" I could not help but grin despite his ill expression aimed at me.

"I think you know why I'm here." Carter hesitated to start. "Dad caught me up."

I stiffened to the news. "So, he's willing to talk to you but not me?" I noted to discuss it with Julius later. "Tell me what you know so far so I can catch you up."

He went through the entire history lesson I had repeatedly drilled at Julius when we were younger, repeatedly saying Cleopatra's name like it was meant to piss me off. "And I suppose there are two demigods waiting for me."

"They did mention something along the lines of seeing you. But that's Julius' fault." I confirmed. "We will have to find a way to seal up the hole and send them back-"

"No." Carter stood his ground, the Kane stubbornness finally shining through in his eyes. "Amos, we have a chance to make ourselves allied with them rather than fight and run."

"Carter," I hesitated to argue against him on the topic. "Cleopatra was a very talented magician in her day, the host of Isis even. She tried the very thing you hope to do. But, she was a woman making deals with men; they didn't treat her with the respect she fully deserved because of that fact."

"Well this is different." Carter pointed out.

"They think of us as weak, they think they can rush in and overthrow us with their legions and pathetic Gods." I growled. "They even degraded our Gods by giving them split personalities. A full insult that should _not_ be taken lightly. And it _will_ happen again if that hole in the Duat keeps bleeding out Greeks."

"Julius said you would disagree." Carter grumbled. "But you are Chief Lector; do you think we look powerful running away from our enemies like that?"

"We've _tried_ fighting back; we lost miserably because the Gods were busy fighting within themselves." I reminded. "Carter, don't give yourself away to them. They will think the same of us simply for your age. All they think about _is_ domination. You think it was bad with Jacobi? They won't even bother trying to keep the First Nome in decent condition!"

Carter rolled his eyes and sat in the throne. "Summon the demigods; I am ready to see them." He instructed.

I sighed, irked that my words no longer had an effect when it was needed most.

* * *

Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase entered the Hall of Ages as quickly as my instructions were given. I cleared my throat so my voice could carry its weight in the room; make sure they knew an adult was ready for any quick moves they were willing to try. "Pharaoh Carter Kane, presented before you are two Greek demigods. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon; one of the big three, the sea God. Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena; Goddess of Wisdom." I introduced.

"Whoa, he's younger than we are!" Percy was quick to say, earning a scowl from me.

"How dare you disregard our Pharaoh so quickly?" I snapped.

Carter gestured me to calm down with his right hand, which I restrained for the time being. "Welcome to the First Nome. I am Carter Kane, Pharaoh, and Eye of Horus." He spoke in such an innocent way that made me want to send Set after him. "Don't let Amos get to you, he's been stuck with my duty while I've been away until now."

"Are you two related?" Annabeth started with curiosity. "You have the same last name."

My eyes narrowed. If anything, I did not really trust her for her skills would easily turn against us. "Yes, Amos is my dear uncle." Carter answered easily.

"Oh boy, is this like a Lion King thing?" Percy spoke another series of words that simply pissed me off.

"No, and I am rather insulted that you would even relate me to Scar like that." I growled. "Also, I would like to add that I don't have to rely on others to fight my own battles."

"Amos," Carter's voice warned. "They don't understand us just as much as we don't understand them. Remember when Sadie and I were new to this?"

Of course I remembered, so I eased off again. "May I suggest the two of you start with your dire situation first?" I directed the conversation quickly before this Percy kid could find another way to insult someone.

Therefore, Annabeth went through the story, going into a little more depth on the Gods and Goddesses for Carter to understand. Of course, it came naturally to him since our struggle is about the same. "So, we need to gain contact with the rest of your party?" Carter finalized afterwards.

I cleared my throat for Carter to approve my advice. "There have been theories amongst Greeks and Egyptians alike that Gaia and Apophis are more linked than we would like to think." I started. "If you still desire peace, Carter, I suggest you bring Sadie along for extra help."

"Will you be okay here?" Carter asked; which I could not help but grin.

"I'm the Eye of Set, I can handle my own." I reassured quickly. "It was not that long ago since our last crisis if you recall."

His expression hardened to that, probably brought up the image of the fight held here. "If the need arises, I have already proven I can hold him back." I added.

He hesitated to nod and faced Percy and Annabeth again. "I think we will start by going to Brooklyn House. I will call Sadie and tell her to await us and ready for another set of fights." He informed the demigods. "This time, Amos, I'll try to keep up contact with you."

"I understand if you can't Carter-" I waved off.

"This has never been written down from what we know. I'm going to need all the advice you can give." Carter glumly stated.

"Sorry to be interrupting." Annabeth apologized. "Why is the Pharaoh coming with us? Isn't Chief Lector the Pharaoh's first lieutenant?"

I smirked at the thought of bringing up their success. "Carter and Sadie Kane have 'tamed' the God of Chaos, and banished the Lord of Chaos on their own."

"It was _not_ on our own, stop making up stories-" Carter complained.

"May I _also_ add that they successfully resurrected the Sun God? Carter is Pharaoh because he is given the honor to possess Ra's weapons and repeatedly saving the House of Life." I continued anyways.

"House of Life?" Percy questioned.

"The Per Ankh translated into English." I explained quickly. "We are not like you; we are not decedents of our Gods. Rather, we are simply Egyptians; some are special for being decedents of Pharaohs of long ago. It takes perseverance and dedication to be a magician in the House of Life. Even more to be an Eye of a God, minor or major."

"What does Eye stand for exactly?" Annabeth asked.

"We host Gods." Carter explained before I could direct the conversation somewhere else. "Horus, the God I host, is a vengeful Pharaoh with an irritating uncle who killed his brother for the throne-"

"_Just_ like the Lion King." Percy placed his finger on Carter's words.

"Uh, I suppose you're right on that score." Carter smiled. "But don't go around calling me Simba, and Amos Scar."

"So, Amos is the host of the irritable uncle?" Annabeth made a wild stab on the subject.

"Being host doesn't make us _like_ them." I was quick to inform. "In fact the Gods change to the hosts instead. It's complicated, but Set has softened quite a bit with me as his host."

"Dude, I don't know, you were acting like you wanted to kill us since we got in here today." Percy reminded, earning a glare from me.

"I am Carter's and Sadie's guardian," I snapped. "I stand on tense terms with you because of history. I've allowed participation because Carter wishes for peace between our worlds. However, if one thing happens to my nephew or niece-"

"Our heads will end up on the top of your staff, right?" Percy finished with a grin.

I snarled to his words. "You wouldn't even begin to imagine the power of Set even _if_ we dueled."

"Amos, nothing bad will happen," Carter defended, "at least between us and the Greeks."

"And Romans," Annabeth added.

"Will you eventually take Carter to see the leaders of each group?" I asked, trying to calm down.

"Yeah, not an issue." Percy kept his grin. "I'm the current leader of the Greeks, but he will meet Jason soon enough."

"Good, I will defend your throne for your return." I finalized towards Carter.

Carter smiled with a nod towards me before facing the demigods again. "I will summon you in the morning," He dismissed.

They bowed before leaving, Annabeth before Percy once again. "I have a question to ask you," Carter started once the silence lasted a minute.

"I am here to advise you on anything, don't hesitate." I reminded.

"Well, dad mentioned something about you probably wanting to kill Annabeth and Percy," he started. "He told me 'If you need to, remind Amos of Cleopatra; that should get him to shut up'."

My eyes narrowed at the very idea. "Have I ever told you how much of an ass your father is?" I started coolly, earning a nervous laugh from my nephew. "What is the question?"

"Is he right?" Carter asked.

My expression saddened, recalling that day that I miserably failed to save Caroline. "Have you heard of a woman by the name of Caroline Smith?" I hesitated to start.

Carter shot me with a worried look. "No, why?"

"She was the decedent _of_ Cleopatra." I informed. "And she was obsessed in everything involving her ancestor. She trained here in the First Nome, and then moved into the Twenty-First. Remarkable woman, she was well read in the fall of Egypt. Unfortunately, she was only a healer."

"Unfortunately?" Carter's eyes judged my choice of words again.

"Julius and I always managed to get caught up in sudden fights. She wasn't skilled in fighting; only healing. She always kept away until the end of it to help whoever needed her aid." I explained sadly, recalling the hissing words that had left her lips, the warning given to us that we contemplated for years.

"Why? Jaz is trained to fight at least a little." Carter pointed out.

"Back then, healers were only trained in healing. You changed the rules when training Jaz." I informed.

"So, what happened?" Carter hesitated to ask, expecting the worst from my reaction.

"She was possessed." I choked on the words myself. "In an effort to save her, I ended up killing her instead."

Silence remained between us for two minutes. "Were the two of you pretty close?" Carter asked.

I took a deep breath and worked a smile towards him despite my closeness to tears. "Perhaps as close as you and Zia," I explained.

He grew upset to the idea now. "I highly doubt you ever meant to harm her. Who possessed her for it to happen?"

My expression hardened now. "It was simply a warning." The words slipped from my lips.

Carter's shoulders slackened. "Simply a warning that killed her?" He judged my words again.

"Carter, I've told you more than I even imagined I would," I started strictly, "we are leaving the subject at that, understand?"

Carter shot me a testing look. "And don't try your Pharaoh voice on me; it won't work on personal matters," I snapped. "In fact, it rarely works on the Chief Lector." I informed quickly.

His right eyebrow rose. "Okay, I have to ask. Has Set returned?" He completely changed the subject.

"He did for a time, he's trying to punish me as of current, and it's not working." I smirked. "We got into a discussion on music genres. Let's just say, he's ignoring me until I admit disco is better than jazz."

"Wait, _you_ got into a fight with the God of Chaos?" Carter spoke with amusement. "Over jazz, even?"

"He says it gives him a headache." I confirmed. "Anyways, it's actually been quite peaceful without him commenting on everything."

"So peaceful that you instead set your teeth on edge towards everyone else," Carter added.

"You know, I never liked the idea of Chief Lector," I started, "I knew it would require great dedication to keep up with everything going on around you. I don't think my irritableness should be blamed of Set but rather stress."

Carter stood up from the throne now as I stood up to stand on the side, bowing as he walked down the steps. "I'm going to call Sadie, and come back immediately after," Carter informed.

"I figured that was what you would do. But why do you wish to take the throne today?" I wondered.

"You just said you were stressed," Carter reminded, "I figure I should help."

"You've done too much helping me," I scolded.

He smirked, "I could say the same about you."

I frowned, ready to start comparing when he waved it off and left without another word.


	4. Chapter 4

-Sadie Kane-

What do you say when your brother drops the G bomb and says they are visiting tomorrow morning? Well, of course I'm going to freak out! We don't know them, why should we trust them? I soon found myself sitting against the wall with Walt's hands on my shoulders. "Come on Sadie, what happened?" He asked for the tenth time.

"Carter will come back tomorrow morning." I started.

"Okay, and?" Walt knew there was bound to be something else involved other than my brother coming home to be his annoying self.

"He'll have two guests as well." I choked on the very thought.

"Still not seeing the problem here Sades." He grew a bit irritated.

"They're Greeks." I finally spat out.

He froze for a second. "Wait, didn't we _just_ tell him we were preparing to fight them?"

I shook my head. "No, we skipped that detail if you remember."

"So he's bringing the enemy into Brooklyn House, to willfully let them take notes on us so they can defeat us? That's fantastic." Walt grumbled.

"Well, it's not like we've faced crisis mode before." I reminded him quickly.

His expression hardened, probably recalling our last fight. "Does Amos know then?"

"Yeah, apparently he hesitates to approve for the 'sake of peace'." I scowled. "And there's more. Romans are involved. Even worse? Amos suggested I run with this party and help Carter."

Walt smirked. "Are you really that surprised?"

I sighed. "Okay, not really." I gave in. "For being a big brother, he sure is a weakling turning to me for help all the time."

"Maybe it's to assert Amos that Carter won't get into a sticky situation?"

"Well of course it is, Walt! Carter will never admit to needing my assistance. Then again, he doesn't need to, I know." I rolled my eyes. "You know what I just noticed?"

Walt shot me a confused look. "What?"

"Your hands are on my shoulders." I grinned as he simply rolled his eyes with a small smile showing through.

"Your mind always drifts to boys?" His eyebrows rose questioningly.

"Usually when I'm bored or stressed." I explained quickly. "I think I will call Amos before the day is done. Get some advice from him on what I should do precautionary wise."

"At this rate, he isn't going to get a break." Walt added.

"At least he loves us." I continued. "He would rather we ask him a billion questions than enter a fight in a lost haze."

Walt smirked. "I don't think he would appreciate hearing that you two died over something that could be easily solved."

"Hey now, I'm pretty good at problem-solving." I defended in a teasing manner.

* * *

It took a while, but Amos finally picked up. "Oh jeez, Sadie. Do you understand how different time zones work?" He complained for a second. "I'm six hours ahead of you."

I did the math quickly, but he waited patiently. "Three in the morning?" I spoke nervously. "Sorry, I didn't know."

"It's fine, I'm used to calls at random times, especially early in the morning. You just kind of gave me a small heart attack this time." He admitted.

"Well, uh, I guess I'm calling to say I'll ask you some questions more towards the afternoon." I explained.

He rolled his eyes as he shook his head. "You might want to _now_ instead." He smiled. "The Greeks on your mind?"

"Very much so." I didn't hide it. "I'm worried that Carter is being too vulnerable towards them. Isis gave me a warning last night to ready for another long fight. Anubis told Walt the same thing."

"The bonuses of being a host of more peace-like Gods." He added. "I believe Carter explained the situation with the party of seven?"

"To a point." I shrugged off, once he said Greeks and Romans I just stood frozen and blocked his words out.

"And the two were separated from this party?" Amos continued.

"Yeah."

"They leaked through a hole in the Duat." He started. "Apparently, the Greeks and Romans have already paired up and are working towards fighting Gaia, their mother earth."

"So, like Geb?"

"No, more like Apophis." Amos continued. "Geb is gentle and caring, Gaia isn't."

"So, another run of this freak show?" I complained.

Amos's eyes narrowed in response, which I straightened up quickly. "I know this is tough on you Sadie, I do." He spoke smoothly, his caring tone that made me miss our parents even more. "But you have to understand, Carter is going through more stress with the weight of Pharaoh on his shoulders. I want you to go with him basically as an advisor and protector."

"Why don't you go instead, you'll do ten times better than me-" I continued.

His eyes narrowed again, which got me to shut up. "And leave the House of Life leaderless? Don't think so. Besides, I'm just another combat magician thanks to Set. You never know when having the powers of Isis can come in handy."

"Why couldn't Carter host Isis instead?" I complained further.

"Well, it's not like any of us asked to host them, did we?" Amos reminded strictly, bringing up horrible memories that quickly shut me up and hesitantly nod.

"Fine, I give in already." I muttered under my breath.

Amos chuckled a little. "Besides, I think you'll get along famously with this Percy Jackson. He has the same quick tongue."

I gave him a confused look, staring at him for a few seconds before clearing my throat. "Sorry, not interested. I have my own guy."

"Oh, right, Walt Stone." Amos quickly reminded himself. "How is he anyways, hosting Anubis and whatnot?"

"He kind of regrets it," I explained, "but it gives him enough time to find a cure."

"Well, if he gets low you should tell him that hosts don't agree with the Gods all the time. There's differences, and sometimes you have to get over it to achieve the ultimate goal from the bond." Amos yawned for a second. "Also, you should get to bed early. I believe Carter is planning on dropping by at around four. Perhaps he'll catch you up with the rest of the details."

"Okay, thank you Uncle Amos." I spoke before we hung up.


	5. Chapter 5

-Carter Kane-

Annabeth and Percy stood frozen to the sand portal I managed to make finally. "I guess I should explain this." I started with a grin. "This is a sand portal. The conjurer of it has to think of the place they want to go for it to work. This one will bring us to Brooklyn House, or at least the roof of it."

"That is awesome!" Percy finally spoke up, excitement in his eyes. "We could have used this on so many occasions!"

"Is it pretty difficult to make?" Annabeth wondered as she observed it.

"Yes, but it just takes practice. My sister is better at it than I." I confirmed. "So, walk through, and uh, be prepared for an overload of sand."

"And what should we expect on the other side?" Annabeth made her caution known.

"A confused Griffin by the name of Freak. But don't worry; he's usually behaved around me." I explained plainly.

Percy went in first, and then Annabeth followed warily in. I followed the two and dusted the sand off my clothes as the two demigods coughed up sand they mistakenly ingested. Freak peered at me out of confusion. "I'll come back with water, and Freak a snack to keep from eating people." I informed before leaving, earning weird looks from the two of them.

I walked into the kitchen to grab two glasses of tap water and a prime rib for Freak. As I finished filling the second glass, the lights turned on as Sadie rubbed her eyes tiredly as she took me in. "Oh bloody hell Carter, how about giving a heads up next time?"

"I told you I would be leaving at ten." I rolled my eyes out of irritation.

"Our time, or Cairo's time?" She demanded.

"Cairo's." I gave a small smile to seeing her staff she was now leaning on. "Planning on having me explode?"

She grumbled a few choice words in response. "Maybe, but Amos would give me a lecture on why I shouldn't go around killing older brothers."

"You can go back to bed. I'm just going to have them sleep in our spare rooms a few more hours." I explained. "And then we can get onto the situation."

"Carter," Sadie's voice grew concerned as her eyes stayed fixed on me. "Walt and I didn't tell you exactly _who_ we would be fighting."

"I think I have an idea already-" I started.

"It is the Greeks." Sadie interrupted quickly. "We are going to end up fighting them, Carter. Bringing them here is a mistake."

"Perhaps Anubis and Isis were just wary. I mean, they can't see the future Sadie. We've changed so many things that it's simply a mess what we see ahead." I pointed out.

"We are experts when it comes towards being the victims of deceit, remember Carter?" Sadie snapped. "Don't stand there and let them pull the blindfold over your eyes."

"Look, if it _does_ come to that, Amos is ready for a fight." I reassured. "Actually, he might have been ready to kill them before I showed up."

"Should have let him then." Sadie scorned.

"You remember all those times that we wished we had anyone's help or even company while we traveled?" I started. "They may need our help if our worlds are being drawn together."

"There are seven of them, they can fend for themselves!" Sadie's voice rose. "They don't need us along, and they'll see it soon enough and want to kill us instead-"

"And why do you think they would suddenly turn against us if we are pathetic compared to them?" I demanded, getting frustrated with the common logic in the situation.

She hesitated, considering my words. "Perhaps they are power hungry like Set?" She offered.

"And we dealt with Set." I reminded quickly, for Set has always been a sore topic to bring up. "This group is just a little older than we are, but I'm sure they are scared just as much as we were when facing Apophis."

Her expression saddened, for once my sister decided to actually listen. "Amos mentioned that Gaia and Apophis might be linked despite being of different worlds. Who knows what Gaia can do if we just stand by. She might even release him again and we don't have a clue as to _where_ his shadow is now." I continued.

"Welcome back Carter." Bast's voice started from the doorway. "You two realize everyone can hear you, right?"

I laughed nervously. "Sorry, having an important family discussion." I apologized.

"More like another end of the world meeting." Bast corrected quickly. "You might want to hurry up with those glasses. Sadie, you should go with him to get introduced."

Sadie grumbled at the thought, but grabbed the prime rib and followed me upstairs.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry about the short chapters, just trying to get things moving.**

**Thank you for reading!**

-Sadie Kane-

A blonde girl and raven-haired boy awaited us on the roof; sand still stuck to their clothes no matter how hard they tried to brush it off. "There will be clothes for each of you in your room." Carter informed as he handed them each a glass of cold water. "And we'll wash your clothes, should be ready for you later on this morning."

I threw the rib at Freak, which he happily snatched in the air. "And who is that?" The Caucasian boy asked.

"The name is Sadie Kane, third most powerful magician, Eye of Isis, the sister of the Pharaoh." I introduced quickly. "And you two are Greeks?"

"Yeah, Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon." The boy extended his arm, which I huffed off.

He shot me a nervous smile and lowered his hand. I may have to travel with them, but I will not bow down to shaking hands with the idiots. "And I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena." The girl added.

"Why are your introductions so long?" Percy asked Carter.

"It's an Egyptian thing." Carter started. "It's a part of you, if you ditch it, you lost part of yourself."

"Well, looks like we have quite a bit to learn from you." Annabeth confirmed.

"That's for sure." Percy added with a nervous smile aimed at me.

Why did Amos suggest I get along with such a moron? "Carter, rooms?" I reminded hastily.

"Right, we'll continue in three hours. I'll show you to your rooms." He gestured them to follow him in.

I sighed as I watched Freak fluff his feathers a bit. "It's going to be a long couple of days from here." I grumbled before heading to bed again.


	7. Chapter 7

-Carter Kane-

"Carter?" Zia spoke with a hint of surprise when she met me in the hallway this morning.

"Hey, Zia." I smiled a bit to the bags under her eyes. "Busy day yesterday?"

"Well, I discovered some distressing news from Janet when I got here." She continued a bit harshly.

"Oh, on what?" I wondered, Janet has been one of the adults Amos had sent to watch over us.

"She's found herself playing maid rather than actually being a guardian or teaching." Zia's eyes grew irritated. "You _do_ realize Amos asked her to come here to teach, not play babysitter?"

"Well, I've told Amos _repeatedly_ that we don't need any adults worrying over us-" I explained.

"You are the Pharaoh, Carter." Her voice scorned. "We would be leaving your sister and initiates to ensure your safety."

"Man, you guys worry _way_ too much-" I complained.

"All it will take is another Jacobi incident to cause a crisis in the Per Ankh." Her eyes narrowed.

I laughed nervously, recalling how close she was to succeeding. Even worse that it happened to be an attempted assassination on the most powerful magician of the world who even managed to control Set during the fight. "We got pretty lucky." I added.

She sighed, releasing her irritation. "_More_ than lucky, Carter. You three would have easily been killed."

"Awe, do I hear concern for the Kanes?" I teased.

She playfully punched my arm in response. "Come on Carter, I consider you family. And I've done a good amount of aiding you three over the past three years."

"Yes you have, perhaps too much." I added.

"Well, thankfully, after Apophis, the rest of the Per Ankh accepted Amos as Chief Lector, so I managed to get a bit of a break." She reminded. "I assume you've met our odd guests in Cairo?"

"Yes, in fact they are here as we speak." I admitted, her eyes narrowed in response.

"What?" She couldn't believe her ears.

"Oh come on, they need our help." I defended quickly.

"Do you know what happened last time we met?" She snarled.

"_Yes_, both my dad and Amos explained the details for me." I rolled my eyes. "We might be able to make peace with them, Zia-"

"_Peace_? They'll trash us if we keep contact with them!"

I wanted to comment on her English turning American, but decided not to push her rage any further. "We prove our worth and they'll know better than to cross us." I stood my ground. "And they're focused on Gaia rather than us. Practically harmless-"

"Practically harmless you say?" She snapped. "That's what we thought of you and Sadie when I found you, remember?"

"Look," I grew irritated having to defend my choice from everyone, "I'm Pharaoh. I've decided making peace with them will benefit us in the long run. If you have a problem with how I run things, make a complaint to Horus instead."

Her hands clenched. "May I remind you I host an even more respected God than you do?"

"Ra won't fight me." I spoke easily, which agitated her further for she knew it to be true. "Let's get some breakfast."

She relaxed with a deep sigh. "Fine."


	8. Chapter 8

-Amos Kane-

Another series of earthquakes, chunks of the roof in the Hall of Ages started to crumble to the floor as I watched cautiously. "Chief Lector!" Kyra screamed. "Are you going to sit there or do something about the destruction being made on us? This is the tenth earthquake today!"

"Keep calm Kyra," I instructed as I finally stood up. "The one responsible for this wants to drill panic."

"It's working!" She added out of frustration.

I waited until it died down to announce my orders. "Evacuate everyone to any Nomes that have available space."

"Evacuation?" She stood in shock. "It's been a long time since the First Nome has had to leave-"

"And we are breaking that record today. Get everyone out," I finalized. "And Kyra, I want you to find Carter after you do this. Tell him what's been occurring here."

Her eyebrows knitted. "Why don't you?" She snapped.

I shot her a sad smirk. "I'm Chief Lector; I made a promise to protect the throne."

"You idiot!" She scolded. "We've had too many Chief Lectors sacrifice themselves in less than five years-"

"This is a confrontation, Kyra," I spoke dryly. "This Goddess doesn't respect our strength. Now go, you're wasting time arguing with me."

She wanted to continue, but then decided against it and rushed out. I turned towards the throne to see a chunk of sandstone fall directly on it. I rolled my eyes out of irritation as I aimed my staff at it, dissolving the chunk into dust that I brushed off the seat. Then I kept my footing on the steps, staff ready as I kept my eyes on the floor, which started to grumble and crack.

"Gaia," her name I barely managed to speak through. "You are in Egyptian territory."

A hoarse womanlike laugh emanated from the carpet, the cracks formed a face that peered back at me in amusement. "I'm here to release a good friend of mine," she spoke smoothly.

"Apophis is sleeping deep in the Duat; you won't be able to recover him," I snarled.

"You underestimate me," she growled. "All it takes is to stir a war between our worlds. And what better way than leaving the First Nome in ruins?"

"You cross Chief Lector Amos Kane, Eye of Set. I will not tolerate you destroying the Pharaoh's throne." My voice boomed in the Hall.

"So, you're not the Pharaoh?" She grew irritated at the thought. "Then who is?"

"That information will have to die with me," I confirmed.

"Oh, you wish for death?" She grinned, and trust me when I say she should see a dentist soon, "I can give you that."

I stood at alarm to a large earthquake; the floor dissolved into a thick black mud and continued to rise. Bigger chunks of sandstone dropped into the liquid, sinking rather quickly through it. Hiding my panic, I formed a shield around me and the throne, making sure we both couldn't get smashed by the sandstone rain.

A beam of sunlight showed through the roof, which I peered up to see the roof ready to collapse all at once. Gaia's laughing grew louder before the building started to move. I found myself sitting on the throne immediately to the room turning clockwise.

_Anytime now, Set._ I grumbled at the God.

_Oh, you magically forgot our feud._ He snapped.

_You are still hung up on that?_ I asked out of amazement. _We have bigger things to worry about at the moment!_

_No we wouldn't, you could have left with everyone else._ Set snapped. _Moreover, what do you expect me to do? It's a Goddess of Earth!_

I sighed out of exasperation, the thick mud reaching the top of the stairs. _Help me keep this shield up?_ I suggested.

_I have a bad feeling that mud will eat through it._ Set ruined any hope I had left. _Save yourself and ditch the damn chair._

Any normal person would agree with him on that score, but I was certain I was already out of time to plan an escape. I watched my shield falter to the mud, and then quickly rushed in. I let out a scream in surprise to the mud yanking me in once it reached my feet. I quickly conjured a rope to yank myself back to the throne, but the mud yanked the Pharaoh's throne in with the rope, sinking even quicker than me.

Actually, once I managed to clear my head for a second, I noticed I was only chest deep in the nasty crap. The walls of the Hall crumbled apart, sinking into the mud that kept rising. I struggled to swim through it, my limbs pushing around quite a bit of weight to move a little. "Have I proved my point, little God?" Her voice snarled through a weird feminine figure that formed on top of the mud.

My eyes narrowed as I took in her slowly approaching, that horrendous grin still aimed at me. "All I learned is that your mud is revolting," I snarled.

She frowned for a quick second, the mud yanked me further in response, chin deep in it now. My panic grew worse, feeling claustrophobic in the black liquid. She laughed as I struggled to breathe. "You shouldn't be too worried, Kane. I don't plan on killing you yet."


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own the Kane Chronicles or Percy Jackson.**

**Kyra is an OC.**

-Sadie Kane-

Annabeth and Percy weren't exactly sure where the other five were. Something about a cave they fell through in Rome. Therefore, we figured we would attempt making a portal and look for them. That is of course if we _can_ make a portal. I wasn't so sure it would work; Carter insisted it should since the Per Ankh is global.

_It will work._ Isis supported as I focused on making the damn portal. _Just think of Rome and you will get there._

_Thanks, because you know I've been there before._ I snarled at the irritating Goddess.

"Hold up!" Walt yelled, ruining all focus I had to open my eyes and face him.

"This better be good Stone," I threatened.

He laughed nervously. "Carter, a woman by the name of Kyra has just arrived with an urgent message from the First Nome."

"Kyra?" I asked out of interest.

"Yeah, the name is new to me too," Carter admitted. "I have to take this." He took my nod as a sign of approval.

"No need, I know my way around." A woman's voice reassured as she stood on the roof with us. "It's not like this is my first time in Brooklyn House." She paused and grinned towards Carter, "_you_ must be Carter Kane."

"Uh, yeah. And I believe your name is Kyra?" Carter obviously never met her up until now.

"Yes, Kyra Teal. But, you can just call me Kyra," she introduced. "It's too bad that we are meeting on such bad terms."

"Bad terms?" I wondered.

She faced me and grinned even more. "Sadie Kane?"

"Uh, yeah, how do you do?" She was fairly creepy now the further this continued.

"And yes, bad terms," she answered quickly. "I just stood witness to the First Nome sinking into the ground with my cousin inside."

She was so calm with the news that I believed it was a prank Amos sent for us. "Yeah, you can go back and tell Amos nice try." I rolled my eyes.

Her expression hardened. "If only I could, except I believe he got swallowed."

"Wait, how?" Carter finally managed to defrost himself from his state of shock.

"Two hours after you left, a series of earthquakes occurred. Ten within three hours, actually. And my idiot of a cousin decided to evacuate the Nome but stayed put in the Hall of Ages." She explained. "The next thing I know, the building started caving in, even started spinning. And then this black mud simply swallowed it up."

Cold silence hovered between the six of us. "Y-You're Amos' cousin?" I finally asked.

"Actually, I'm your second cousin," Kyra confirmed.

"That sounds like Gaia." Percy hesitated to add. "I wonder why she would do that though."

"Amos did mention a Goddess he was going to confront." Kyra added in support.

"Why are we just meeting you if your family?" I asked.

Kyra laughed nervously. "Must I go through the list of trouble the three of you made for the Per Ankh? I've been advising Amos since you banished the serpent."

"So, you're pretty powerful too?" Carter continued.

"Number four on the ranks." She confirmed. "But we'll catch up later. Amos instructed me to tell you what happened, Carter."

"Why did he stay?" I wondered, not sure I wanted to know.

Her hands landed on her hips. "Like I said earlier, Amos is an idiot," she reminded. "He's book smart, granted. But Julius was always the one to save his ass whenever they got into anything serious."

"But he's the Eye of Set, he probably got out." Carter tried to reassure, but he wasn't even that certain.

Kyra sighed. "I think you may have put a little too much faith on your uncle this time," she admitted. "So, your orders?"

"Uh," Carter stood frozen.

"I managed to split all First Nome members into other Nomes for the time being," she continued.

"Great, so we should investigate the ruins." Carter faced me.

"We'll come along if that's okay," Annabeth volunteered. "If it was Gaia, we might be able to identify it or not."

"See if we can find Amos too," I added in support.

Carter sighed, "Okay, Cairo first, then Rome."

"Um, may I put in a word here?" Percy started. "If it _was_ Gaia, your uncle is more than likely dead."

Kyra sighed. "If he _is_ alive by some chance, he's definitely her hostage. And we don't know if she is still there or not, so I will come as chaperone."


	10. Chapter 10

-Amos Kane-

"Well, this is the last thing I expected." A male voice rang through my ears, which I struggled to wake up, gasping for air.

My vision refused to clear up, all I could see was a tall figure peering down at me. "Amos Kane, host of my son?" He asked.

I groaned as I tried to sit up, but something kept me pinned down. "Geb?" I asked amongst the confusion swimming in my head.

"Ah, so you recognize where you are then?" He continued.

Honestly, I have no clue. The last I saw was the mud enveloping around me. "We're trapped underground," Set concluded.

Geb stopped leaning over me and turned towards the blur of red. "Don't be so alarmed or anything." Geb chuckled a bit.

"Sorry, I don't find this funny in the least." Set growled. "My host is pinned by that crazy mud and we can't do a damn thing about it. And I'm trapped down here because of it!"

"Well, be lucky she has no control of the earth in these parts," Geb started. "She _really_ thought she had you too. I bet she is throwing a hissy fit as we speak."

"What the hell would a Greek Goddess want from me?" Set demanded.

"Well, you _are_ the God of Chaos." Geb reminded.

"I'm changing my ways!" Set complained. "I have yet to kill Amos, so give me a break!"

"Maybe if you didn't kill in the first place, we wouldn't find ourselves in this situation, Seth." Geb pointed out.

"Ugh, you really had to bring that awful name into this too?" Set grumbled.

"Seth is better than Set," I spoke up.

"Oh great, now my annoying host is getting involved." Set scorned.

My vision cleared up a bit more that I looked around me to see that I was stuck in a sea of black mud. I told myself to calm down before I could panic again. _You can thank my father later._ Set growled.

_I will, but how do we go about getting out of here?_ I tried swimming again to find the same results as before.

_Find the almighty Goddess of Mud to help us._ Set scolded.

_Sorry, I only know of one, and she's the reason we got in this mess in the first place._ I reminded him. _Hell, I think she took my staff._

_Yeah, well you're not completely unarmed._ Set added. _All you have to do is tell the world that Disco is better than Jazz-_

_I should have known you would have kept a grudge as pathetic as this._ I complained.

_I hold grudges against my own family, Amos. What makes you special?_

_I am not arguing with you._ I decided quickly. _Let's find a way to get out of this first._

So I found myself struggling to swim through the mud that I swear felt like gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe instead. The only thing that seemed to change was my energy. All I saw was the sea of disgusting mud and the darkening sky. And the thought that night was approaching already helped bring rise to my panic again.

"Hey," a female voice spoke from around me.

"Oh Gods, not again!" I complained instantly.

A youthful face peered up at me from the mud though, partially a relief that it wasn't Gaia again. "Oh no, I heard about the damage. So I came by to see, and what do you know? My husband is stuck in mud."

"That's not even humorous Nephthys." Set growled through my own throat, which I've gotten overly sick of yet used to.

She giggled a childish giggle in my opinion. _That's because she is a child._ Set confirmed.

"Nephthys, I didn't think you were into mud, just clean water." I spoke with interest.

"Oh yes, I definitely prefer the Nile over this. This is some corrupted mud too, may I add." She agreed.

"Can you help us out then? If not for Set, please for the sake of the House of Life." I asked quickly.

"Awe, a Chief Lector asking me for a favor?" She shot me a coy smile. "Well, you have done me the favor of dealing with my brother/husband. Let me see what I can do. It won't be much though; I can barely breathe through this."

"Anything is better than what I've been doing for the past five hours," I explained.

I waited a few seconds when a push of wind struck my back. Weird, I'm pretty certain that Shu is the Wind God. But I turned around, or at least tried to, to find a rather large wave of the black mud heading my way. I closed my eyes and tried to use the most of the 'push' they gave me.

"Well well, I guess the idiot did survive after all," A familiar voice greeted.

I struggled to open my eyes and found myself looking up at Kyra. "You sure that's Amos?" Sadie asked quickly.

Kyra shook her head to her second cousin and extended my staff- wait, how did she end up with my staff? "Don't just sit there Amos, I won't stand here all day." Kyra urged.

I quickly grabbed it and tried to kick my feet through the thick mud to help get me out, but I highly doubt it did much. I collapsed onto the sand, not caring about the fact that I am coated in the greasy mud. "Oh yeah, this is the work of Gaia." Jackson's voice spoke up after I closed my eyes to ease my breathing. "She used the same type of mud to try and drown me not too long ago."

"But you can't drown," Annabeth continued.

"Apparently that's a lie." Percy shrugged it off as I opened my eyes. "Hey, you want a quick shower by the river?" He offered.

"Will it help get this crap off?" I asked, not caring that I just cursed in front of kids, which Kyra's eyes narrowed.

Percy laughed, "yeah, at least a good portion of it."

Carter barely touched his hand to my shoulder and took in how thick the solution was. "You were swimming through this?" He asked.

"Only a majority of it, yeah." I hastily replied. There was no way I was going to mention the crazy family reunion I just endured with Set.

"You didn't have to if you had simply left with us," Kyra reminded.

My eyes widened once I took in that the Kanes hadn't really met Kyra. "Oh, uh, Carter and Sadie, this is Kyra Teal-" I nervously started.

Kyra rolled her eyes. "We already introduced ourselves."

"Oh good." I summed up and collapsed to the sand again.

"Alright lazy, this nice kid just offered you a quick rinse off. Let's move." Kyra started tugging on my right arm.

"Gods, you never let me take a break." I complained as I opened my eyes once again.

"Hey, this time your predicament was on you," Kyra explained. "So stop wasting everyone else's time."


	11. Chapter 11

-Carter Kane-

It was weird how we ended up finding Amos through the dark mass that once was the foundation for the First Nome. Honestly, I was at a loss when we came upon it, I didn't think there would be any survivors in the mess. But Amos proved us wrong, not the first time that's happened. We started to approach it anyways, see if the demigods could figure it out. Kyra spotted Amos' staff drenched in the gross mud ten feet away from the 'shore'. And then she spotted him in the mud before anyone else could. Obviously, she has keen eyes.

Percy followed Kyra practically pushing Amos, who finally got on his feet, towards the Nile. Percy dipped his index and middle finger into the water. "Okay, you're going to be freezing by the end of this." He forewarned as he took a step back from the riverbank.

Percy closed his eyes and lifted his hands up, which a wall of water formed literally a foot away from him in reaction. He then gestured it towards Amos, which obviously made it crash against my irritable uncle. Thankfully, he was in a better mood being kind of relieved of the weird black mud he was completely covered in.

"A water elementalist?" Sadie stood in wonder with me.

"Sure, but I'm not exactly limited with it," Percy admitted. "Poseidon is the God of the Sea in Greece."

Kyra quickly draped a towel over her cousin, who quickly thanked her in response. Honestly, those two seemed more like siblings rather than cousins. "Well, I guess it's getting late." Kyra spoke up. "Amos and I will make camp for tonight; the four of you can continue learning about each other."

And that we did. Sadie decided to go against Percy in manipulating the water, which Sadie utterly failed at. Annabeth and I just stood at a safe distance and watched them. "Do you have anything special too?" I asked her.

She smiled a bit. "Not as awe inspiring as Percy's. But I've picked up my mother's wisdom, that's proved pretty useful around Percy."

"Is it weird to say you're a child of a God?" I asked out of interest.

"Yes, especially when it's a Goddess." Annabeth admitted without hesitation. "But, your predicament is more interesting. Hosting Gods?"

I laughed nervously. "Yeah, it has it's annoying moments."

"How do you go about hosting a God?" She asked, interest taking hold in her eyes.

"Well, ours was forced upon us," I started. "Long story, my dad made a big mistake. Anyways, in ancient times you had to be a talented magician and of royal blood to achieve hosting a God."

"So, _are_ you of royal blood then?" She continued.

"Yeah, on both sides of the family." I explained. "It's actually the reason Sadie and I are so powerful, but not better than Amos."

She nodded in some understanding as we laughed to Sadie's crumbling wall of water she tried to make. "Your sister is about as stubborn as Percy," She pointed out.

"Heh, my uncle calls it the Kane stubbornness," I added.

She faced me again. "You two seem like you love your uncle quite a bit."

I smiled at the thought, "well, he's helped us beyond what I suspect an uncle would do. You can't help but love him in return to his caring attitude."

"At least you have family to lean on," she added, but I sensed a hint of sadness thrown in.

I was about to ask when a red hieroglyph burned above Sadie's wall of water. I couldn't catch what it read, but it must have been trouble for Sadie backed off when a funnel of water formed seconds after. It rose and appeared like a water serpent, made of water. Percy laughed in astonishment, "I will have to remember that one."

I turned to see Amos approach, in a much better mood than before, as the water fell back into place. "Carter," his tone remained professional around the demigods, "I have a few words to exchange with you once everyone is asleep."

"I suspected so with today's events," I admitted.

He nodded and faced Sadie, who apparently was trying to mimic Amos' trick. "Camp is set up," he announced before leaving for the orange gleam not too far away.


	12. Chapter 12

-Amos Kane-

Kyra waited by the small fire I built, poking a stick at it. "You know, I always admired your fires." She grinned as I rolled my eyes.

"It's a fire Kyra, don't get all excited," I pointed out as I sat beside her, taking in the heat of the flames.

Kyra faced me now, which I waited for her to say something for a few minutes. "What?" I finally asked.

"What happened for you to escape?" She asked directly, there is no indirectness with my cousin.

"A mix of luck and a horrible family reunion." I summed up.

She rolled her eyes. "I assume you mean _Set's_ family."

I laughed nervously. "Who else would I talk about?"

"Well, I think you know I would kick your ass if you started talking about me." Kyra smirked.

Oh yes, Julius and I knew better than to cross paths with Kyra. You had to agree with her, or fear her bow and aim. She was so fascinated with it when gifted to her from our grandfather at the age of ten she lost sleep to practice. She even gave warning shots if we got too deep into an argument when there were far more important things to attend to.

"How did they take meeting you?" I hesitated to ask as the four kids were wrapping up their time by the Nile.

"Pretty well actually," Kyra started. "Then again, I'm not the first family member that suddenly jumped into their lives."

I rolled my eyes again. "I was working on introducing you three, just didn't have the time."

"I'm not complaining," Kyra admitted with a smile. "I actually liked getting that kind of reaction."

"And I've told you repeatedly that you are the weird one." I recalled.

"Mmm," she nodded in agreement as she took a sip of water, "but _I'm_ not the troublemaker, am I?"

Silence as the demigods and Kane children approached, eagerly sitting by the fire. "Amos," Sadie spoke first as everyone served themselves water and part of the bird Kyra had shot down not too long ago. "Since the First Nome is gone, what are you going to do?"

"You always have the best questions to answer Sadie." I grinned. "The First Nome will need to be rebuilt or moved somewhere else. That depends on Carter though. I suggest we wait until the Greek's Gaia is defeated first. For now, the Chief Lector and Pharaoh will be mobile until we get those details finalized," I explained quickly.

"In other words, Amos is coming along." Kyra confirmed. "Otherwise he'll find some other way to get into trouble or just sit around at Brooklyn House and do absolutely nothing."

"Thanks Kyra, I can always rely on you to make me out to be a lazy American." I muttered under my breath.

"Studying books all day is doing nothing," Kyra confirmed. "So, _is_ that okay with you four?"

"Uh," Annabeth was obviously not sure.

"Yes, why wouldn't it be?" Sadie spoke up. "You never know if we need adult supervision."

"We could deal without Coach for a while," Percy added to Annabeth. "We _could_ get him to take a break from this quest."

"Percy," Annabeth warned.

"Plus, the Chief Lector has some cool tricks up his sleeve," Percy continued anyways.

"Do you not remember the threats he gave us?" Annabeth snapped. "Sorry, uh, Amos, but I'm not about to place our lives in your hands any time soon."

I nodded in understanding. "No one should."

Kyra snorted, "that's for sure."

Carter and Sadie's eyes saddened. "I'm an escort for the Pharaoh and his sister," I clarified. "Unless the two of you are in absolute dire straits, I may cross the line and aid."

Kyra kept to herself this time, but I could tell it took a great deal of control. "Sounds fine with me." Percy smiled in agreement.

Silence for a few minutes. "So, do you guys have an imaginary backpack or something?" Percy asked as he took in the six sleeping bags around the fire.

"It's more like a locker in the Duat," Carter explained. "Actually, I didn't know you could put more than your weapons in it."

"Emergency things from years ago." I explained dryly. "Maybe later I'll teach you and Sadie how to do that."

Kyra smirked, "Amos' locker has more books than the library in Brooklyn House."

Sadie gave me a weird look. "Amos, a bookworm?" She considered. "I guess that explains why you get along with Cleo better than we do."

"But don't get me wrong, a bookworm has every chance of being a rebellious monster like everyone else," Kyra explained. "You would be _so_ grounded for this incident."

"More like dead," I clarified. "And a quick reminder Kyra, we're no longer kids."

"Well, you might have authority above me, but I still see the sneaky Amos before me." She meant to tease me before the kids, probably release some of the tension the demigods have towards me. "You wouldn't believe how many times Iskandar summoned him to the Hall of Ages! There was one time that he got in trouble for breaking into the First Nome's library at three in the morning simply because there was a book that would help continue what he was researching."

"Maybe Carter can learn a few things from you then." Sadie nudged her older brother.

"I don't encourage my behavior," I finalized. "And I'm not the only one who played little rebel, Kyra."

She grinned to the mention. "At least no one caught me, did they?"

"I would honestly say you two are more like siblings rather than cousins." Percy spoke up.

"No, we're cousins." Kyra confirmed. "Just very close ones is all. Well, until that San Francisco scene happened, we kind of distanced."

"What happened?" Sadie continued.

"Uh, no." I waved her question off. "We are not bringing that up," I directed to Kyra.

Her eyes saddened in response. "You still haven't gotten over it?"

"Why would I?" I whispered.

"Because good rose from it after fifteen years of questioning it is why!" She snapped. "Well, okay I guess a _little_ good came of it. I contemplated breaking the rules and visiting you in Brooklyn during that."

"You would have been caught, and Desjardins would find some way to punish you as well." I continued.

"Oh, I would find some way to coax my way out. That's the difference between us, you always accept the punishment." Kyra pointed out. "And Ruby was right; it was you he felt threatened by."

"If he was so fearful of the Kanes, he should have gone after Julius or Ruby rather than me." I added. "I knew Ruby was holding back details too, otherwise I would have read the hell out of the possession book before strolling in there."

"Still blaming yourself, you know it could have been ten times worse if you hadn't intervened," Kyra continued.

I glared at her now, "Kyra, this is the end of the topic, am I clear?"

She crossed her arms. "Well, at least you didn't sulk as much as Julius, I'll give you that."

"Does it involve Caroline?" Carter suddenly spoke up.

Kyra relaxed a bit and faced Carter. "Now, where did you hear that name?" She asked curiously.

I sighed and faced the kids, who obviously were listening to our disagreement. "I told him, but only pieces of it," I explained. "And I'd rather not continue, it will just put unwanted fear in their thoughts when they should be focused on this Gaia."

Kyra finally agreed with me and decided not to continue, but I'm certain she will look into continuing it later. "Yes, we should discuss this Goddess problem we have."

"Why she destroyed the First Nome is a good start," Sadie directed.

"I believe I got the answer to that," I continued. "She wants a war between us." I faced Percy, who swallowed his fear with a nod my way. "And I believe it includes the Pharaoh of the Per Ankh." I added, making sure my eyes stayed on the ground instead of giving away Carter.

"And what makes you think that?" Kyra asked.

"I mentioned my name, she asked where he was." I simplified. "And you know, Kane stubbornness and whatnot. She tried to hold me hostage underground, except she didn't put into account that I host one of Geb's sons."

"So she's probably in a foul mood," Percy added. "Well, more than usual."

"We should be careful with what we say aloud," I instructed. "I'm not sure what is going on between Geb and Gaia, she could still be lingering around."

Kyra's eyes narrowed. "You weren't staying behind for the throne, you wanted clues."

I smirked in response. "Well, I _had_ hoped that a certain God would help me get out if it got too insane in there. I ended up getting help from three others instead."

"You thought Set would help you escape being swallowed by mud?" Kyra judged with her eyes.

"Wouldn't have been too hard, just turn into the awful fruit bat and get out through the roof," I explained.

"Fruit bat?" Kyra shot me a disgusted look.

"You wouldn't last a minute being Set's host," I added. "Especially if you think _that's_ bad."

"You don't host do you?" Carter asked.

"No, and I think I'd rather keep it that way," Kyra added. "Especially with the random talking sessions I've witnessed Amos have."

"I haven't quite mastered keeping arguments in my head yet," I admitted.

"Scares the hell out of the magicians, that's for sure." Kyra summed up.

"I'd imagine Set is beyond annoying compared to Horus and Isis," Sadie smirked. "He annoys me each time we meet."

"Well, after a while you get used to the fact that he hates you and yet managed to restrain himself from killing you off a long time ago." I spoke dryly. "Anyways, I know it feels like you've been sleeping all day thanks to time changes, but we should get some sleep," I urged.

Kyra nodded in agreement. Percy and Annabeth didn't complain, they seemed tired when we met anyways so I wouldn't be surprised if they were still catching up. Carter and Sadie kept their place by the fire with Kyra and I. "I hope I didn't stir too much concern," I broke the silence but kept my voice low as to not wake up the Greeks.

"Not going to lie Uncle Amos, but we were pretty freaked out." Sadie confirmed.

Carter hesitated to nod in agreement. "Well, we'll keep together this time," I explained. "I'm sure I just had a taste of what she can do."

Kyra agreed with a small smile. "Family first, that's always a rule I stand by."

I rolled my eyes. "You really shouldn't be grouping yourself with us."

"Awe, but the Kanes are full of endless fun Amos." She teased again. "Especially recently. Besides, you never know when you'll need a professional archer."

"You're an archer?" Sadie asked in amazement.

"Yes, I still carry my staff and wand of course, but I've always relied on my bow and arrows," She confirmed. "It's proved quite useful around the Kane brothers."


	13. Chapter 13

-Carter Kane-

Sadie went to sleep after a bit of learning about our second cousin. Kyra watched as Amos stood up and brushed some sand off. "Will you stay here and keep watch?" Amos asked.

"Not a problem, take your time." Kyra nodded towards me to signal I should go as well.

I followed Amos to the bank of the Nile, which he sighed as he took in how the river reflected the stars and full moon. "So, what's up?" I nervously started.

"We're going to have this talk in the river," Amos started. "And be wary, it's freezing."

"Ookay then." I sighed as I took in the gentle current of the Nile. "And what good will that do exactly?"

"The water gods are decent compared to Gaia." Amos summed up as he took his sandals off. "So whichever one happens to be here, we won't be compromised compared to land."

"I see, and we'll probably have to keep resorting to this, won't we?" I complained a bit as I took my sandals off.

He laughed in response as he quickly slipped into the river. "Most likely so, yes."

I hesitated, but Amos extended his hand for help. I slipped in and instantly started to shiver. My uncle didn't seem bothered much by it and led me to the middle of the river, the water reaching my shoulders. "Hu, I thought it was deeper." Amos shrugged his shoulders and relaxed a bit, letting the water get up to his neck. "Okay Carter, I'm not exactly sure how 'sound' proof being in the water will be," he started, "but it's honestly the only thing I could come up with."

"Sounds like it could work," I supported.

"You already heard about what she wants, or at least what part she revealed to me." Amos continued quickly. "You and Sadie already know that Apophis can rise if enough Chaos is created. It sounds like she plans to get Egyptians to fight the Romans and Greeks. Looking into the past, I'm fairly certain that will create enough Chaos to summon him back."

"So, you're finally agreeing with me?" I asked for confirmation.

He nervously laughed. "I still don't trust them Carter, but anything is better than war, especially if a Goddess is looking to make one. On that thought, if the rest of the Per Ankh overhears of the hole in the Duat, _anything_ can trigger a fight on our end. The fact that she is looking for the Pharaoh makes me nervous as to how she plans to get a rise out of us."

I took in how he still avoided putting the label on me. "Assassination or kidnapping, either will be enough probably."

"So, keep quiet about him." His eyes shot me a strict look, but it wasn't necessary for I knew the seriousness just by how we found him. "Also, you know about water and Gods, right?"

"Not a good combination," I recalled.

"In this case, it depends on the situation," Amos started. "If things get too out of hand, go to the nearest body of water. I don't care if it means you watch Jackson fight off our enemies. The water is our friend in all three worlds, remember that."

I nodded in response as I finally adjusted to the temperature of the water. Amos sighed as he dunked his hair into the river, an attempt to rinse some of the mud matted to his braids off. "I don't really want to mention this part, but I feel I'd regret it if I don't," Amos continued. "If we run into her again, I _expect_ you to ditch me."

My eyes widened as I opened my mouth to protest. "Carter," his voice scolded, "it's happened far too many times with you two. I've _said_ repeatedly that I can care for myself. I know you and Sadie have been clinging to the remaining family you have. And I know I'm asking a lot. But understand this, the Chief Lector's job is to _protect_."

"And let you sacrifice yourself?" I finally managed to speak.

"You shouldn't be so surprised, Ruby did the same for Julius if you don't recall." Amos reminded quickly.

"Yeah, but this is different," I scorned. "What will the Pharaoh do without his Chief Lector during this?"

He rolled his eyes in reaction. "I'll be quickly replaced."

The water held its chill thanks to this talk. "Sorry Amos, I don't think I can standby like that."

"So, you're telling me I'll have to rely on Kyra to hold you two back?" Amos' tone saddened. "She's not going to like the sound of that."

"You never got Janet's complaints?" I asked.

He gave me a confused look. "Janet has complaints?" He asked with interest.

I laughed a bit. "Yeah, ever since she moved in with us," I confirmed. "She ended up playing maid rather than teacher. And we've been ignoring her whenever she speaks against it."

He took the hint fairly quickly. "Well, Kyra's a different story. She'll threaten to kill you if you don't listen."

"Like the threat of death ever stop us before." I rolled my eyes.

Amos laughed. "Okay then, let me amend what I said," he gave in. "_If_ we meet Gaia, and I tell you to run, you better do as I say."

"We'll see when that day happens," I partially agreed.

"Julius would have my head if you get killed," Amos started.

"No he won't." I rolled my eyes. "You're his little brother. That would be like me going after Sadie for letting Zia do something stupid."

He raised his right eyebrow in response. "Thanks Carter, make me feel old. I'm only thirty-five!"

"That's still over half my age." I did the quick math.

He did the math just as quick. "Wow, when did that happen? I could have sworn I was eighteen yesterday."

"Oh hey, you're not _that_ old. Get a grip." I teased, earning a grin from Uncle Amos.

"Yeah? Wait until it happens to you." He added as he started unraveling some of the braids, some of the beads seemed to be missing from his mud bath. "Gods, I might have Kyra help me get this out."

"You're missing beads too," I added.

"Yeah, I noticed," He grumbled. "Might have to run around without braids for a while."

"Hu, weird, Amos is going to have to change another thing about his attire," I teased.

"Hey, I have yet to dye my hair red," Amos pointed out.

I shot him a confused look. "Please don't, you're killing it as it is."

"I agree, but I don't make the rules," Amos continued.

"Uh, is this how you're appeasing Set?" I asked.

"It's that or endure his vicious comments twenty-four seven," Amos explained dryly. "Something about lack of temples so he wants everyone to know where he is."

"And that's why you've been wearing red with the exception of the leopard's cape? Wait, did that get lost?" I asked.

"Oh no, it's just coated in mud," he reassured. "And it will be a while before I wear it again I think. Hell, I'm having a hard time getting it out of my hair."

I rolled my eyes. "Are you going to need help?"

"No, just slowly working it out," Amos clarified. "Might have to continue later, I fear."

"So, have we said everything we wanted to settle?" I asked. "I can barely feel the water now."

Amos eyes lit up in alarm. "Well Carter, why the hell haven't you rushed out of the river by now then?"

"I'm wondering why you seem fine with it," I complained.

He rolled his eyes. "You think you and Sadie are the only ones who've gone on quests? This isn't my first rodeo."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, I'm calling it a night," I finalized. "See you at sunrise."

"Get some good sleep Carter." Amos spoke through a yawn.


	14. Chapter 14

-Amos Kane-

"Ah, such a lovely pyramid!" I admired as we approached the Great Pyramid. "I believe I should be able to get a portal to Rome with no problem."

"Will there be any interference? I mean, you want to cross into Roman territory with Egyptian magic-" Kyra started.

"It might be a little more difficult than usual, but you're asking the Chief Lector," I reassured.

"Um, have you used a pyramid before?" Sadie asked nervously. "Cause, I'll tell you right now, I used one a few years ago, and we ended up having to climb the damn thing to get through the portal."

I placed my right hand on my niece's head gently. "Yes, and I will make certain we don't have to run up the pyramid."

"And how certain are we that the party will be there?" Carter asked Percy now. "Maybe they went looking somewhere else?"

Percy laughed nervously. "If they did, they probably went to Hades to get a better idea on what's going on."

"And where would we find him?" Sadie asked.

"Hollywood," Annabeth grimaced at the thought. "I hope not, he isn't exactly a gracious uncle either."

My glare landed on the Athena child now, whose eyes lit up in response. "That wasn't directed towards you, more like the God that I hear you host," she quickly defended.

I sighed before speaking. "His name is Set, God of Chaos. We're working on changing his recent reputation. And yes, he hasn't been a very good uncle, or husband, or brother, or father, etc. But may I ask you something? If you happen to be gifted with the wisdom of your mother, why do you insist on speaking trash about something you know little of?"

She stood speechless and I faced the pyramid without another word. I closed my eyes for a second until the familiar sand filled wind appeared before me. "Fair warning," I started when I faced everyone, "I'm not sure where in Rome we will find ourselves. We could even find ourselves standing in the middle of the coliseum for all I know. Now, with that said; Kyra?" I faced her.

She nodded in understanding and walked through first, which Sadie, Carter, Percy, and Annabeth followed in order with me trailing. "Hu, the Egyptian section of a museum," Kyra could barely breathe as she took in the nearby amulets they had on display.

"Most likely the clay miniature of the pyramids that brought us here." I pointed them out quickly. "So, where to first?" I faced Percy, handing leadership down.

"Go by the cave you think?" He asked Annabeth, who nodded in response.

We managed to find our way out and followed Annabeth to the cave they had supposedly fallen through. "Hello?" Percy yelled into it.

I crossed my arms in response. "Why don't we go in?" I asked.

"It was crumbling the last we saw, that's the reason why we met," Annabeth explained.

"Why were you in a cave?" Kyra wondered.

"Long story, my mother wanted me to retrieve a statue that was hiding down here," Annabeth answered briefly.

Kyra gave me a weird look in response. "Gods are like five-year-olds, they want something done and they want it immediately. Doesn't matter who they represent." I explained in simplest terms. "The only God I've liked is Thoth; at least he makes some sense when it comes towards balance of Order and Chaos."

"Percy, we should look for the ship," Annabeth urged.

"Right. But, um, do you remember where it was last?"

Annabeth sighed before shaking her head. "No, I've been kind of overloaded with the new Egyptian thing," she admitted.

"Okay, let's start with what the ship looks like," Carter started. "Is it like a steam boat, or a cruise ship?"

"Uh, Leo built a flying ship. I think that's the best way to describe it really." Percy summed up.

"Leo?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's part of the team," he explained.

"Do you suspect they may have flown out in search of you two?" I continued.

"Yeah, but I can't remember where," Annabeth explained. "I know we exchanged words before Percy had let go."

"I'm having the same problem," Percy complained. "Gods, it's like enduring Hera's memory wipe out again, except not a completely clean slate."

Silence for five minutes. "You spoke of a statue to Athena," I started. "What were the plans for it after getting out of this cave?"

"Uh, something about making peace," Annabeth struggled.

"Peace with whom?" Kyra continued.

"The Romans," Percy answered quickly. "But, I don't remember if we figured out what needed to be done with it once recovered."

"Perhaps the five do," Kyra wondered. "Is there any chance that Greeks have a 'phone' like we do?"

Annabeth's eyes widened, "Iris message!" She turned to her partner as his eyes lit up a bit.

"Iris message?" Sadie questioned instantly. "What, you poke an eye out and contact people that way?"

"No Sadie," I held back from laughing. "Iris is a Goddess."


	15. Chapter 15

-Kyra Teal-

Percy Jackson approached us directly after they talked with their party. "Apparently, they placed the statue in Athens already. They were just resupplying before searching for us."

"And what arrangements have been made for regrouping?" Amos asked.

"Well, the choices are we meet them there, or have them met us here," Percy explained. "Figured we'd let you four decide, you've been the only reason why we have traveled as far in such short time."

I cleared my throat and faced my cousin, earning his attention. "We might not strike another auspicious moment being in Rome. But I also fear a quick trip through the Duat will stir our Greek friends into a frenzy." I voiced my opinion.

Amos nodded in agreement. "I don't trust the earth in these parts, a trip in the Duat for any of us is far too risky."

"So, have them meet us?" Percy asked for clarification.

"That would be best." I finalized before he returned to Annabeth.

I looked past Amos to see Carter and Sadie practicing pulling Amos' sleeping bags out of their own lockers, and then putting them back. "Amos," I spoke softly as to not bring alarm to anyone else.

He faced me, exhaustion visible in his facial features, but he refused to let himself appear that way. "We should slip for a moment and talk," I struggled to say.

He nodded in understanding and extended his right hand, which I hesitated to take. Then stood speechless to the sudden cliff-side view of the ocean. "Well, I guess you have far too many tricks up your sleeve." I smiled as he decided to sit, letting his legs dangle over the cliff.

"One of those things you pick up as Chief Lector." He shrugged off as I sat beside him. "So, what's on your mind?"

I sighed, digging at my list of worries to decide which one to bring up first. "I have a feeling that I know how you plan to have the next meeting with this Goddess turn out. I won't stop you, I know it's perhaps for the best. However, I'm concerned about the following Chief Lector-"

Amos closed his eyes for a second. "Sadie is headstrong, she'll continue guarding and advising the Pharaoh in my place."

"Amos," I snapped, "the Per Ankh still questions the reasoning of placing a teenager in the throne. It would be unwise to let the House be headed with teens."

He faced me in reaction. "Perhaps this is something you should discuss with Carter and Sadie," he suggested. "If they feel the same, maybe an exception can be made and place you in my place instead."

My eyes gave in to the sadness tugging at me since the evacuation. "How can you be so casual on the subject?" My voice broke.

Amos shook his head. "Kyra, we're the adults amongst this small group," He started. "I know you still feel fifteen with the knowledge of a fifty-year-old. You haven't been put in the situation of playing role model yet. I fear, if it happens, they'll immediately turn to you to push them on."

"That's another thing," I continued. "How am I expected to hide my emotions from them if you are not around?"

Amos rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'll be ditching you Kyra. I'll pay my visits, Julius will make certain of that."

"You sure? Julius and I never got along-" I reminded.

"You've had your disagreements," Amos agreed. "But it's not like Julius and I don't either."

Amos and I shared smiles, recalling past fights they had. "It's just hard to even think that Julius is gone. I don't even want to think of how lonely I'll be without the other Kane brother too," I admitted dryly.

His expression hardened in response. "You've held on to family far too much since the accident."

"When it leaves me parentless, it tends to happen," I pointed out. "Have you not seen the same of Carter and Sadie?"

Amos hesitated to nod. "Yes, and it's dragged them into far too much trouble than I'd like to admit."

"Well, that's what is expected when around you," I continued, "but everyone that has taken the time to know you obviously don't regret it for a second. Because, unlike Julius the pompous jerk, you are gentle and caring of those who even try to push you away."

Amos smiled a bit and shook his head. "Why is it that you keep picking us up and help dust off the hopelessness?"

"It's one of the few things I can give you in return," I answered easily. "So, I expect you don't go on an immediate suicide mission when she shows her muddy face."

"Well I wasn't _planning_ to make it easy on her; I'm Chief Lector for crying out loud. Besides, Set would be pissed if I go down so easily." Amos adjusted his fedora against his hair, which he had tossed the idea of braiding it this morning. "And everyone else, obviously."


	16. Chapter 16

-Percy Jackson-

"I think we will be in Rome in about two days," Leo estimated. "That's of course if nothing happens unexpectedly."

"With our recent luck, we won't be too surprised if anything happens," Annabeth added. "Also, we have two friends to add to the group."

"Uh, what?" Jason finally decided to be a little more involved on the conversation.

"We, uh, ran into another group," I started nervously. "Have you heard of Egyptian magicians?"

"You are talking 'pulling the rabbit out of the hat' kind?" Frank asked.

"No, _these_ guys are like wizard kind of magicians," I corrected. "Actually, I guess you can say we have four with us."

"We should talk with them and see if they want to join or not," Annabeth started. "I think, though, that they wanted to try to keep the House of Life in okay condition."

"Good luck, she destroyed their headquarters." I reminded her quickly.

"Hu, it sounds like you two are having loads of fun," Nico interrupted. "Egyptians are trouble. Don't put much trust on them, they are backstabbers and will take you for what you're worth."

"Not these guys," I defended quickly. "And they think we are power hungry savages."

"Maybe both are true?" Jason suggested.

"Anyways, how did you two get out?" Nico finally asked.

"That's something we'll have to explain when we meet up," Annabeth started. "The Chief Lector has a better idea than we do on the topic."

"Chief Lector?" Piper asked.

"He's like the first lieutenant of the Pharaoh. Didn't like us at first, but he's kind of warmed up after a few days," I explained.

"Hold on, where the hell did you two land?" Jason asked curiously.

"Kind of hard to explain, but basically we've been to Cairo," I answered.

"Cairo, Egypt?" Frank whistled in awe. "So you've met the big guys of this group of bunny-hat fans?"

"Yes, and Gaia is getting involved with the Egyptians as well," Annabeth continued. "She swallowed up their headquarters there. The Chief Lector believes she plans to stir up a war between us."

Coach rolled his eyes, "don't trust him."

"I wouldn't put it past her to do something like this," Jason defended. "She tried with the Greeks and Romans, remember? That's why we placed Athena's statue here."

"We are bringing at least two with us; it's to help achieve peace," Annabeth confirmed.

"Uh, but how will these two help if we run into crisis?" Hazel spoke up. "We just barely got away with a truce between us."

"Like we said, we'll explain when we meet," Annabeth repeated. "So, we'll see you then."

"Stay put," Leo added with a smile before slashing through the rainbow.

I took a deep breath to relax, which Annabeth smiled. "So, let's have an even longer talk with Amos," She suggested.

"You know, I seriously thought I would end up having to fight that guy." I recalled the tension when we first met.

Annabeth nodded in agreement. "Good thing we met Carter and Sadie. I noticed he's been a little more relaxed with them around."

I looked up to the rocks Amos and Kyra were standing on to find them no longer there. Then looked towards Carter and Sadie to see they were doing the same practice they have been for an hour now. "Maybe they need a break from us," I joked.

"Well, we have time to kill." Annabeth started as she unsheathed her sword. "Want to practice?"

"Sounds good, but let's pull the Kanes in as well." I suggested and faced the siblings. "Hey, Carter and Sadie, want to do some combat practice with us?"

"I highly suggest you don't." Amos' voice started from behind us, which I jumped before turning to face him and Kyra two feet behind us. "It will give Gaia an idea of what we are capable of," he explained. "Also, I don't exactly trust the condition of our Gods currently. You could be asking for death in such a situation."

"Uh, what are you talking about?" I couldn't help but ask.

He waved my question away quickly. "I assume you two finished talking with your party in Athens?"

"Yeah, they should be here in two days," Annabeth informed. "And, we were wondering what your plans were."

Amos sighed as he faced his cousin, who nodded in reassurance. "I believe it would be best if I pull Carter and Sadie away from joining your party. Gaia will try anything to get us to fight; it could help her get that wish. We need to prepare the Per Ankh for another battle if she continues attacking us as bluntly as she did yesterday."

"Oh, but how will we keep peace between us if something does arise?" I asked.

"Simple Jackson, a truce." Amos snarled at the thought of having to mention it. "If our worlds meet again, remember the Kanes."

"Be a little hard to forget you guys," I added.

"Ah yes, just as hard as it will be for us to forget your arrogant little mind." Amos added in agreement. "We will linger here a little longer before heading to Brooklyn; make sure you two stay safe."

"Thank you," Annabeth bowed.

He waved it off, "I can't have the thought of ditching two kids behind for the Per Ankh's sake."

Kyra smirked in reaction. "You may want to get Carter and Sadie to practice something else. I think they've mastered the 'art' of pulling sleeping bags out of the locker by now."

"I suppose you're right." Amos thought for a few seconds. "We'll try a divine word now."

Kyra's eyes lit up in response. "Uh, this is kind of a bad time to be practicing divine words-"

"Oh chill," Amos smiled in response. "Sadie picks them up rather quickly. And what will a little fire do anyways?"

Kyra's eyes narrowed in response. Amos shrugged it off and approached them. "I'm sorry for the change of plans," she started towards us. "Amos is fearful of the future with this Goddess's plans being brought to light."

"That's understandable," I spoke up. "You guys have your own problems to worry over."

Kyra smiled towards us. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to come by Brooklyn House. Amos will keep playing the tough guy act, but we don't bite unless it's last resort."

"We'll remember that." Annabeth added with a smile in return.


	17. Chapter 17

-Carter Kane-

"Uh, what?" My throat burned with anger towards Amos' words.

"Carter, it's way too risky to have you run around with them-" He continued.

"We've done risky before and you were fine-" I snarled.

"This is worse than even Apophis, so don't try to slam that back at me, Carter." Amos stood his ground. "I am your guardian no matter what title we wear, I _won't_ let you die out there for some Goddess to earn her war."

"But it's okay if you sacrifice yourself for us?" I brought up again, which Sadie stood in shock. "Ever think _that_ might be enough to start it?"

"You can get our side to stay neutral, _I_ can't," Amos snarled. "You two know the Per Ankh is nervous around me as it is."

"But it's okay if two kids end up leading them rather than the host of Set?" I continued.

"Hosts of Horus and Isis have been more valuable than Hosts of Set," Amos reminded.

"You can come with us, but we're staying with the original plan," Sadie spoke up.

Amos turned to his niece in surprise. "You didn't like the idea of it in the first place."

"Yeah, but I've changed my mind," Sadie stood her ground. "We need their help, they need ours."

"The Per Ankh needs their Chief Lector and Pharaoh, otherwise it will just be a mess-" He explained.

"Then go be the Chief Lector for them," Sadie urged, "but Carter and I are staying here for the sake of the world, again."

Amos sighed, his posture relaxing a little. "I really should have been more of an adult figure around you two," he grumbled. "Listen up; you two are teenagers and still need guidance no matter how much you think you don't. So you need to start listening to the adults more than you have been."

"Oh really now? Pull the adult card on us?" Sadie growled. "Come on Amos, you know us better than to think that will work."

"I would hate to force you two to come back to Brooklyn," Amos warned. "Look, we have some serious issues stirring up in our own world. If they need our assistance again, they know how to reach us."

"Yeah, because we will be standing beside them when it happens," I added.

Tense silence for two minutes before Amos cleared his throat. "We will be in Brooklyn once the other party is in sight. No arguments, just acceptance." He finalized and left.

"Like that will happen," Sadie growled.

"We should just listen-" I started.

"Oh no we're not," Sadie finalized. "It's time you've done something rebellious in your life Carter."

"Uh, we've been breaking rules left and right Sadie," I reminded her.

She waved it off. "That was a family thing that was forced upon us. This is what _we_ are doing."


	18. Chapter 18

-Amos Kane-

Two days passed when an odd flying object came into view. Annabeth verified it to be their party, so I ushered us to gather our things to leave. Sadie and Carter were obviously reluctant, but they listened. Said our goodbyes, and I led us further into the forest so as not to be noticed by the rest of their party. "I'll summon my boat and we'll call for a meeting with the Nome leaders." I started after a few minutes of silence.

"Get ready for war on our end," Kyra confirmed further.

"Yes, but they'll only listen to Carter's orders. So Carter will have to summon them," I explained.

No reply, so I abruptly turned to see us alone. Kyra stopped and took in the situation as well. "I knew I should have just forced them instead of falling for it." I muttered under my breath.

Both Kyra and I started to retrace our steps to the outskirts of Rome. We found ourselves back at the exact area we had held camp to find no one around. "What now?" Kyra hesitated to ask.

I crossed my arms and started to run through some quick ideas. I was about to speak up when a faint voice fell upon us. "Kane," the chilly voice clearly spoke through the wind.

My cousin and I tensed in response, bow and staff ready. "Okay, this is getting creepy." Kyra admitted quickly.

"Be ready for anything." I forewarned immediately, recognizing the voice just as fast.

Nothing for five minutes but our stiff battle stance we held. "Maybe we are just hearing things?" Kyra suggested with a breath to relax.

"Oh no, don't fall for it," I spoke through gritted teeth. "It's her, I know it."

She reluctantly kept up her alarm beside me. Three more minutes passed that she gave up. "Okay, let's keep looking."

I relaxed and nodded. We started walking towards Rome. Five minutes passed when a heavy stomping crashed against trees behind us. I turned quickly to find a large shadow following us, blocking the sun that was beaming on us earlier. "Uh, appears we have company," I pointed out as Kyra took it in.

"Quick ideas?" She managed to speak through her shock.

"You find Carter and Sadie and come back here," I instructed. "I should be able to handle this."

She shot me an unsure look, but left anyways. I took some deep breaths, telling myself I could take him easily. But his height and weight hung around to wear me down anyways. "I see I have some party bringers today?" I yelled out to him once he stood fifty feet away, to which I could visibly take in my disadvantage towards his towering figure. "I should warn you, you have been stalking Chief Lector Amos Kane, and I don't take too kindly to that."

The giant laughed as he took me in. "You puny God?" His voice was hoarse and smelled of death.

"The Eye of Set, God of Chaos. There is nothing 'puny' about it." I stood my ground. "Who dares to call Set puny?"

He laughed again and took a few more steps, the ground shaking as if it was an earthquake instead. "Mother wants Pharaoh." He apparently seemed to only speak broken English.

"You'll have to go through me and several others first." I readied my staff, keeping my nerves calm.

"Lector make pet." He added before suddenly rushing his steps.

I felt light headed to barely feeling the ground underneath me. _Focus Amos!_ Set started to panic.

"Ha-di!" I screamed out thanks to panic getting the best of me.

Thankfully the ground responded to the spell and exploded at his feet, but he continued through like it meant nothing. "A'max!"

The fire that started on his right hand was small and the wind blew it out easily. _Okay, you should run._ Set advised.

"And when have you cared about my fights?" I snapped as I took off further into the woods, away from Rome.

_When have I not?_ Set spoke calmly despite the scene around us. _Pathetic if the host of me loses a fight._

"Then you better get over yourself and help," I growled as I narrowly missed striking a tree in my running.

_We seem to be missing an important detail, aren't we?_ Set chuckled as I could hear the giant catching up despite the trees getting in the way.

"Oh, so you'd rather see us get squashed by the feet of a giant?" I grumbled.

_Oh, don't be such a drama queen Amos. He said 'Lector make pet', remember?_

"Me no squash Lector!" The giant protested in response to the words I meant towards Set.

_See?_

"Oh shut up!" I snapped. "How about you do something while I'm trying to keep us alive? You know, other than annoy me!"

_Well then, go to Rome and tell them the news._ Set suggested.

"Who the hell cares about music genres? This is life or death!"

_For you. I'll just find my way out of the Duat if you die here._ Set reminded.

I froze as the serpent legs of the giant crush the trees before me, stopping literally a foot away from me. My thoughts were racing with my pulse and breathing as I tried to piece a solution together. "Ah, that's much better," the female voice approved suddenly.

In seconds, I found myself tied down with the roots of crushed trees as I tried to clear my head. A massive headache started from the harsh fall I took from the binding. "So, you thought you could hide from me in my own home, did you?" Her voice emanated from a figure built of twigs. "Well, Geb did pull a nasty trick on me last time. This time, however, I'll let my son, Mimas, take good care of you. Eventually your Pharaoh will have to look for you, and your silence will do you absolutely no good."

"The Pharaoh will replace me before daring a search," I snarled, "so you lose."

She chuckled in response, "you just don't _get it_, do you?" A root threatened towards my neck in response to her anger. "I don't need the Pharaoh to launch a war, I can kill you and pin it on the Greeks or Romans and it will still give the same results."

"Lector pet?" The giant, Mimas, asked the figure of twigs as the binding roots tightened further.

"Oh yes, you can do whatever you want with him," she reassured with a motherly tone.

_Uh, no._ Set started quickly. _I might let my host control my actions, but I won't be a pet to some retarded giant._

_Well, I don't see you protesting aloud, Set._ I snarled back. _Then again, you're not the one tied down with tree roots._

_Yeah, what the hell happened to the mud?_ Set asked. _That was kind of cool-_

_Shut up!_

The figure grinned at me as the tree root lingered around my throat as a constant threat. "Kane, you'll be an obedient toy for Mimas or face destruction of your entire world. So, what will it be?"


	19. Chapter 19

-Carter Kane-

"You idiots!" Kyra's voice screamed as she rushed towards us, tackling to the ground. "Do you know what trouble you're causing?"

"Hey Kyra, it's not like we were planning on killing anyone-" Sadie started in our defense.

"Come with me _now_!" She demanded, bringing us harshly back on our feet.

"We are sticking with the original plans-" I retorted.

"Amos is fighting a giant as we speak!" Kyra snarled. "And you're concerned about joining the Romans and Greeks instead?"

"A what?" Sadie asked.

"A _giant_," Kyra spoke slowly for her to understand. "He's going to need our help, so hurry up!" She instructed hastily, to which we followed her without hesitation.

She paused and glanced wildly around a clearing with several trees crunched around. "Wow, what the…" Sadie managed to say amongst the confusion.

Kyra started heading away from Rome, following the 'trail' of lumber. Along the way, she abruptly stopped and stared at the ground, heart racing even further as we caught up. "What is it?"

**Again, sorry about the short chapters.**


	20. Chapter 20

-Annabeth Chase-

"Whoa, when did that happen?" Jason started. "I could have sworn this part was filled with tall trees!"

Of course, all of us peered below us to see what he was talking about. "Uh, I agree," Percy spoke up. "Annabeth, didn't the Egyptians go into the forest?"

I hesitated to nod, taking in the size of the destructive path carved through the forest below. "I hate to say this, but I think we should go down there," I added.

"Didn't they say that they could take care of their own?" Percy reminded quickly.

"Sure they did, but take in the size of that trail. Looks like a giant strolled through it." I hinted, which it took a few seconds for him to process the emergency.

"We're going down there!" Percy finalized.

"Uh, you're not the only one that makes decisions around here, Percy." Frank reminded quickly.

Percy faced Jason in reaction. Jason nodded once he took in his expression. "These guys helped Percy and Annabeth. Besides, it won't hurt to take another giant down along the way."


	21. Chapter 21

-Sadie Kane-

Kyra kneeled after a few seconds, weeping without a care for who dared to watch. I quickly peered at her feet to see only twigs. "What's going on? The trail continues further on," I pointed out.

"Sadie, it's a message." Carter explained after further examination of the twigs lying on the ground.

"Okay, what does it say then?" I snapped irritably.

"Let's see, 'Pharaoh must trade himself if he seeks release of his Chief Lector'. Or at least that's what I can make sense of," Carter answered. "It's been written in poor English too."

"Wait, who would take Uncle Amos?" I wondered.

Kyra sighed and stood up, rearranging the sticks before her. "The Pharaoh would be wise not to heed these threats and continue forward," she started. "Amos is still alive; we won't concern ourselves on filling his place yet until there is evidence that states otherwise. For now, let us go back to Brooklyn and gather the Nome leaders."

"But the trail continues-" I pointed out.

Kyra's glare landed on me. "Sadie, none of us have faced a giant before. Do you know how to go about killing one?"

"No, but we can improvise-" I insisted.

"Improvising in a fight is the reason people die," Kyra scolded. "Amos thought he could fight him while I continued for the two of you, and look what happened? Now come along, we will head to the museum this time."


	22. Chapter 22

-Percy Jackson-

We followed the trail of fallen trees to a rather large cave on the side of the cliffs. "Look at that, you guys ready?" I turned to face the team.

"Just a reminder," Jason started, "we don't have a God currently with us."

"Well, we didn't last time either until the last minute," I cut in. "So this should be no problem. Just go in, see if any magicians are being cooped up in there. If not, we run. If so, distract and then run."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "your ideas are the worst, Percy."

"They are not that bad. Nico, you think you can shadow travel in your condition?" I asked.

"I'll give it a try," He spoke uncertainly.

"May I suggest we wait until morning?" Annabeth butt in. "We can at least catch him off guard then."

"I agree with Annabeth," Piper supported quickly, "he's probably waiting for someone to follow him as it is."

"Okay, fine, early in the morning though," I gave in. "Let's get some sleep, I'm exhausted."

**Again, really sorry about the short chapters.**


	23. Chapter 23

-Annabeth Chase-

I peered in to see only darkness, which I gestured for Jason, Piper, Percy, Frank, and Nico to follow. I followed the jagged side of the cave in. "Smells awful." Jason immediately complained as we walked a ways in, to the point that torches stood ahead to light the way.

"Means we're in the right place," Percy added to his observation. "How much further, you think?"

"Who knows, it could be pretty deep," I whispered.

Nico glanced nervously around us. "Be careful, we're walking in Gaia's rightful territory."

"Oh really now? I thought we were going to Disney World." Frank rolled his eyes out of irritation.

"Guys, focus on fighting the giant, not ourselves." Percy scolded, earning a smile from me as we continued on.

**Okay, I think this is the last short chapter. Now for a long one. Sorry again.**


	24. Chapter 24

-Amos Kane-

"Me bored!" Mimas complained as he promptly sat on the weird shaped rocks that honestly looked like it was supposed to represent a throne.

The cave shook in response, my cage swinging freely in the air as I quickly clung my hands to the bars, which they protested in reaction by shooting a sharp pain up to my elbows as the cage started to slowly ease to a stop, Mimas watching me. _Get ready for another round of beat the crap out of 'Lector'._ Set spoke up after hours of silence.

I gritted my teeth to the thought. _I'm not some Goddamn toy._ I protested back. _I don't know if I can make it through another session like the last._

_I know you won't._ Set clarified. _We need to find a way to get out, and fast._

_By what? Suggesting we play hide and seek?_ I snapped.

_That wouldn't be a bad idea._ Set supported easily.

I considered it for a second before Mimas suddenly yanked on the bottom of the hanging prison, making me collapse onto his freakishly large left hand. "Lector fun." Mimas peered at me, his left eye being about twice my size.

"Hey, uh, Mimas. I have an idea that might actually be fun for you." I nervously started, fearing the other hand that started to hover above me. "Have you ever heard of hide and seek?"

He paused and gave me an intrigued look. "What hide seek?" He asked.

"Oh, it's a human children's game. Really entertaining. Usually there is a group of people that play, but it can work for two as well." My nerves I forced to calm down. "All that is required is someone who is 'it' and the rest hide. Whoever is 'it' has to close their eyes and count to a hundred before opening their eyes and finding the others."

"Boring," he finalized and clasped his right hand down.

This isn't my first run of this 'game'. He slowly brings his hands together as his victims cry for mercy, that's the jest of it. The worst of it happens to be the strong stench of death that fills your nostrils that you can practically suffocate from it alone. My eyes started watering again as I kneeled this time, watching him slowly lower his other hand towards me to strike panic. Too bad that I've accepted dying already.

In a matter of seconds, my lungs started panicking to lack of oxygen and the smell overwhelming me to the point that I can't even think clearly. But I still refused to cry out compared to last night where I had repeatedly protested and he found it quite humorous. I closed my eyes to hide away from my current situation, thinking of any other ideas for escape.

_Maybe you should offer some sort of award for finding you?_ Set advised grimly.

My stomach twirled at the very thought. _Like what? An arm? Or maybe my own heart for crying out loud._

_Torture is his game, you know that._ Set continued. _Anything that can strike his fancy._

_And what if he does find us?_ I started.

Set remained quiet on the topic. "Hey, ugly face!" A boy's voice yelled out.

"Hu?" Mimas responded, his hand stopped lowering as I opened my eyes.

"Know anything on magicians?" Another boy asked.

Mimas snarled in response, "what you want? Mother want Pharaoh!"

"So we've heard," Jackson's voice sent a leap of faith through me, "no luck yet?"

He chuckled now. "We have Lector toy, he show!"

"Who is Lector toy?" A girl asked smoothly, prying for answers.

Mimas suddenly lifted his right hand off, which I gasped in the cleaner air as soon as I could. "Wait, Amos?" Annabeth stood at alarm as I struggled to stand.

"Pharaoh won't come for him," Percy started instantly. "Lector is kind of an ass, you see."

_Yeah, great excuse._ I snarled.

"We left message, he come," Mimas reassured with a horrible grin. "But me have six new toys!"

_Oh fuck that, I'm not witnessing him do the same to kids!_ I decided quickly as I peered down at the six teens. "Hey, Mimas, we have enough for a good game of hide and seek now." I brought up again, hoping that this time he would listen.

"No, boring!" He snapped.

"You can't judge the game unless you've played it," I urged.

That's when the inevitable occurred. I found myself looking at his index finger before he suddenly flicked me off his hand. A surge of pain shot through the entirety of my chest as I struck the cave wall before crashing ten feet to the floor. Five seconds of the room spinning and I still could barely breathe.

"Nico, go!" Annabeth screamed.

_Ugh, this is going to end horribly._ Set commented.

_Set,_ I could barely speak to him through my own clouded head. _Take over._

_Take over?_ He judged.

_Do whatever you want to Mimas; just make sure the kids stay safe._ I instructed as a pale teen approached.

_You're asking me to possess you?_ Set asked out of amazement.

The teen kneeled beside me and took in my current condition, reaching his right hand toward my left shoulder. "Back up," I struggled to speak between my strangled breaths.


	25. Chapter 25

-Nico de Angelo-

I froze to his words, wondering what he intended by it. "I'm getting you out of here-" I explained.

His eyes closed, his fight for air ceased, almost appearing peaceful. My eyes widened as I went to try to keep him awake. To my surprise, his eyes opened again, two bright red irises warned me off as a sudden grin appeared on his expression. So, I backed off, watching as the man managed to stand up with ease. "Follow my lead, and stay close," a deep voice spoke through as he made his way towards Mimas, who was trying to catch Jason and Percy with his hands.

"Uh, you're in _no_ condition to fight-" I started.

"Silence!" The voice couldn't have belonged to the guy. "Hey Mimas!" He snarled, earning his attention.

"You dead." Mimas stared at this odd man like the rest of us.

"Not quite," he smirked, pulling a staff out. "You no longer deal with Amos Kane. You face Set, God of Chaos! And Amos even gave me permission to kick your ass; do you know how _rare_ that is?"

"Uh, what?" Percy broke the silence that followed his words.

"Take advantage! We have a God on our side!" Jason changed the direction of the fight.

"Fools! Stand back!" This 'Set' guy declared with immense rage.

We all readied to protest when he slammed the staff to the ground, forming a huge cavern towards the giant, evidently getting a few of his serpent legs stuck in the crack. "Hey, uh, Set!" Percy started. "If we want to defeat him, we need human and God participation, otherwise you won't be able to kill him."

A nasty snarl escaped his throat as he faced Percy with a death glare. "Amos demands your safety for me to possess him, do you understand that?"

"Lector evil!" Mimas complained as he struggled to get out of the cavern.

"It's Set, you moron!" He corrected as he faced the giant again. "And yes, I _am_ evil."

"Guys, back off!" I instructed quickly.

They managed to listen when 'Set' formed a large tornado between them. Mimas pulled himself out finally and glared at the God through the tornado. "Mother see you die!" He yelled, his voice boomed above the roar of the wind from the storm the God made.

"Good, maybe she'll stop being a coward for once!" Set chuckled as the tornado sucked in the giant.

Jason took immediate advantage of the situation and managed to spark a bolt into the storm, leading to agonized screams from Mimas. Annabeth and Frank threw a spear into it as well, bringing a silence over the room, the storm dying just as quickly as the giant. "I-Is it over?" Piper asked.

"Can't be, it just started," Jason continued.

Set nudged his staff against the giant's left eyelid, earning no reaction. "Well, it was fun while it lasted," he shrugged off and faced us. "Off to New York we go," he announced quickly, leading us out of the room.

"Uh, hold on!" Annabeth started. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving your lives, including my host," he explained with ease. "Except the more time I spend in control, the more harm I'm causing to his injuries. So we better hurry this up before we die."

"And how do you plan we go to New York?" Percy asked.

"A portal, where have you been the last few days?" Set snapped.

"Hold on!" I started. "This makes no sense at all. First, the guy is dying, and the next thing I know, some God possessing him like Kronos did to Luke? Don't trust possession, and _don't'_ trust this God!"

"For your information, boy," Set's voice boomed, "Kane asked me to take over to save your asses! I could have killed each of you and continued to New York and he wouldn't know a damn thing!"

Percy nodded in reassurance to us, which I still kept wary as we went about escaping the cave. "Kane!" Gaia's voice screamed into our ears, which all of us tried to cover except the weird guy we just saved.

"Sorry, he's unavailable," Set grinned. "But I am more than willing to fight you if you wish for a quick death."

She laughed to his words. "So he leans on you to finish what he's started, did he? Do you not know the arrangements we made? Either he lures the Pharaoh to me, or he dies in his place!"

Set's eyes burned further, which I honestly didn't believe could be possible. "Amos Kane is my host. I've even made him mark himself in complete red as a warning to all. You overlooked it and treated him with no respect, which means you don't respect me."

"Such chilly words for a small God to say," Gaia mused.

Set grinned now, the light of the entrance coming into view now as we continued on. "You have declared war on Egypt, be ready for complete obliteration," he warned.


	26. Chapter 26

-Jason Grace-

"Guys, I just figured out where I know this guy!" Leo announced.

"Please, do tell," Hazel urged.

"Amos Kane, he's the famous tenor saxophonist of Jagged Blue." He shot into a huge grin.

"Uh, and I assume that 'Jagged Blue' is the name of a band?" Frank asked.

"It's an awesome jazz group. And I swear, Kane is the one that made them popular." Leo was starting to sound like a fan girl the more this continued. "Well, they haven't done any gigs in two years now, which is a shame."

"Nico say anything about his condition yet?" I asked.

Once we had managed to urge the God onto the ship, he collapsed to the floor. This Kane guy was getting weirder by the minute. And now Leo states the guy is a jazz tenor for a small band? "He thinks his ribs are crushing his lungs, and the gasping for air implies that it might even kill," Piper explained.

"Good," Coach put in his two cents, still having a strong distaste towards the magician.

"Uh, no it's not," Annabeth started. "If he dies on this ship, the House of Life will think we did it."

"Why?" Frank asked quickly. "He's dying from something we can never achieve to inflict."

"Gaia will find something," Percy spoke up. "She wants us to fight them, something Amos has been afraid of since we've met."

"Well, that Set guy mentioned New York," I started, "you two know what he meant by that?"

"Brooklyn House most likely," Annabeth answered.

"It's probably a good thing we got him on the ship rather than let him use magic instead. I'm sure that probably has some physical wear on them," I continued. "I'm going to talk to Nico directly on it, see what he thinks."

"I'll come with," Percy added.


	27. Chapter 27

-Nico de Angelo-

"I don't think I can save him," I started. "He's Egyptian; they have a completely different afterlife than we do."

"You don't need to go into the Underworld to save people all the time, death boy," Percy started. "There's a hole between the Underworld and the Duat. Ask your dad where it is, I'm sure he's been examining the hell out of it too. Go through and speak to a smurf named Julius. Tell him the Chief Lector is in trouble and we need a healer."

"That is risky as all hell, Percy," Jason scorned. "What if he can't walk through it even? He is Hades' son-"

"I'll manage," I started, Percy winning by pulling at my interest of different afterlives. "Where do we want to meet them?" I asked.

"We'll stay above Rome," Jason confirmed. "How will Nico get back?" He directed to Percy, who simply grinned.

"Tell Julius you need a portal to Rome after you send the news," he coninued. "And uh, I should warn you that it's a rough trip."

"Stay here and watch him," I instructed before shadow traveling.

**Sorry again for the short chapter.**


	28. Chapter 28

-Walt Stone-

They hadn't said much when they came home yesterday afternoon. Both Carter and Sadie went back into their normal routine, but a grim cloud seemed to hover around them, and all of the initiates could see it. Kyra Teal, the Kane siblings' second cousin, helped Janet with keeping the House in good condition, and she didn't seem to be in a good mood either.

"Carter, what do you plan to achieve with the meeting?" Sadie snapped beyond the library doors, earning my attention away from the books stacked on my desk.

"An understanding on the situation, hopefully," Carter explained. "If he does turn up dead, they'll want a fight with whoever gets pinned for it."

"He'll show, won't even have a scratch too," Sadie snarled. "So stop worrying about some war that isn't going to happen."

"Well I'm sorry Sadie," Carter retaliated, "I happen to be the Pharaoh; I _have_ to worry about it."

Silence for half a minute. "I assume you want me to make an appearance too?" Sadie hesitated.

"It would be nice to have at least a temporary Chief Lector," Carter continued, "but it's your choice."

My eyes widened to the thought. I heard the news about the First Nome when they did thanks to Kyra, but did they even manage to find Amos? "Okay, I'll show," Sadie decided.

"Thanks Sadie, it means a lot." Carter made sure she knew before they walked away.

Now I _really_ couldn't focus on my studies. Worry for Amos and concern for the House of Life happened to be pretty distracting. _Walt._

_Anubis, I thought you were needed at the Hall of Judgment._ That's the usual case unless something major comes up.

_Yes, but I've come to give you a message._ He clarified. _A Greek child came before Osiris this morning. I need you to go to Rome with your healer, Jaz. There you will find a flying ship; you must board it and demand to see my father._

_You mean the Chief Lector?_ I asked, really confused now on the situation.

_Yes. And don't tell anyone else what you two are doing, it needs to be secret._ Anubis continued. _It could prove to be fatal against the Per Ankh if you speak a word of it._

I closed my books and started putting them away. _I must be going; the list is rather large today._ He finalized before I could ask any more questions.

I approached Jaz and Cleo at a nearby desk, Cleo helping Jaz look for some information on healing a ruptured organ. "What's up?" Jaz asked.

"I was wondering if you could help me," I started. "Uh, Sadie asked me to go shopping for the meeting tonight."

"Oh, sure," Jaz smiled. "There's going to be quite a number of Nome leaders that will be here. Even Amos, been awhile since he's been home, hasn't it?"

I smiled, going along with her words. "Yeah, I'm pretty certain he's been missed."

Cleo placed a bookmark on one of the books. "I'll keep this out for you to return to when you get back." She reassured before leaving for her own desk filled with even more books.

Jaz followed me to the roof, which I focused on making a portal. "Since we're the only ones up here, I'm going to tell you what I know," I started quickly as the portal opened. "Anubis just gave me information that we have to go to Rome and board a ship."

Jaz frowned now. "For what?" She wondered. "And why us? What about Sadie and Carter?"

"They're busy with the upcoming meeting," I lied through my teeth, "and a healer is required."


	29. Chapter 29

-Jason Grace-

"Hey, I think they see us!" Leo started in excitement to a boy and girl approaching us through the forest.

"Okay, lower the rope ladder," I instructed. "If they see us, they'll climb aboard and confirm they're friendlies."

Percy and Frank tossed it over the side as we waited. The boy grasped it and led the girl up. "Okay, let's help pull them up as they climb," Percy suggested.

Percy and I pulled the ladder up slowly until they got aboard, both giving us weird looks. The boy kind of looked like he is in relation to Nico and Hazel. "We're looking for the Chief Lector," the boy started.

"Depends on who you are first," I started warily.

He narrowed his eyes, "we're friends of his."

"Wrong answer," Annabeth snarled.

"What is going on?" The girl complained. "Who are these people and why do they know _anything_ about Amos?"

"Tell us who you are, and we'll exchange information," Percy started.

The boy glared at all of us, probably sizing us up. "Walt Stone, I happen to be the boyfriend of Amos' niece."

"A little more information," Hazel started.

Walt sighed, "we are from the Twenty-first Nome, Brooklyn House as it's also known. I was told by Anubis himself that we were to meet the Chief Lector here. This is our healer, Jaz," he introduced.

I relaxed a second. "Jason Grace, son of Jupiter," I added.

"Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon," Percy continued, "let me show you where he is."


	30. Chapter 30

-Walt Stone-

I stood protective against the crew on the flying ship. There was an obvious reason for the sudden tension between us, and I wasn't going to let it slide. A pale boy spotted us as we followed Percy inside. "I was wondering how long it takes for a God to send a message," he started. "Your Chief Lector is in bad shape, it's a good thing you two didn't show up later."

Our eyes lit up in response. "Where is he?" Jaz demanded instantly.

The pale boy gestured to the room he was standing by, which Jaz rushed in, me following with my guard still up. Laying on the bed was undoubtedly Amos struggling to breathe through forced gasps. Without another word, Jaz gently placed her right hand on his forehead and closed her eyes. Percy and the pale boy stood by the door as I patiently watch her work.

Her eyes shot open after half a minute. "Broken ribs, easy fix," she informed as her hands moved towards his chest now.

"Easy fix?" The pale boy judged.

"Quiet, she needs to focus," I snarled.

A few seconds passed as a bright blue hieroglyph appeared between her hands that she gently touched his abdomen, a nasty popping sound going off in reaction. His eyes shot open in reaction as he slowly took us in. "What day is it?" He managed to speak as he slowly sat up, Jaz looking wary.

"You need to rest, your ribcage was badly damaged that I'm not sure if there are any complications," Jaz instructed.

His gaze landed on me, a look that we've exchanged before. "Saturday," I replied after a few seconds.

He stood up now with incredible ease, "well, looks like we have a meeting to attend."


	31. Chapter 31

-Carter Kane-

The Great Room was rearranged with the help of Zia and Kyra to make it represent the Hall of Ages somewhat. A recliner sitting on top of a podium, I suppose it was meant to be like the Pharaoh's throne, and the couches facing it.

Sadie even went out of her way to wear her best attire, a decent blue dress and the amulet of Isis our father gave her. She even put her hair in a bun, which I admit didn't go well with her pink streak in her hair. I wore a white button down shirt and combed through my hair, the amulet of Horus over the shirt.

"You two look fantastic," Bast approved.

"Yes, they bring honor to the Kane family tonight," Kyra added. "You understand what you must do?"

I sighed as I hesitated to nod. This is going to be difficult, especially getting away with explaining Amos' lack of appearance tonight. The very thought of Uncle Amos seemed to slow me down.

Kyra nodded and gathered Sadie and I into a group hug. "You two are strong; you'll do better than any of us to enforce peace. Amos is strong as well, he will return in enough time."

Sadie swallowed her words, eyes ready to cry soon. "I can't even think of being a Chief Lector, I'm too young for that kind of responsibility." She whispered her confession.

Kyra nodded as she kneeled, looking up at us with sad eyes of her own. "You two remember the story. Amos was delayed in Rome while doing research on their Gods. He will be back as soon as he can, but placed his niece in his stand for this meeting."

"And questioning Amos is questioning Set," Sadie added.

Kyra smiled a little with a nod in agreement. "You can do this; you've done everything else that the rest of us couldn't." She finalized her pep talk. "You better take your places now; the leaders will be here in a minute."

Kyra stood up as Bast went upstairs; Kyra following slowly as I reluctantly sat on the recliner, Sadie sitting on the podium. In the next minute, the entire room was filled with all three hundred and fifty-seven Nome Leaders. Surprisingly, the Great Room had enough room to accommodate everyone, and we just barely had enough space for everyone to take a seat.

"Welcome to the Twenty-first Nome!" I started once they managed to all sit down. "We have a large list of things to discuss this evening, so we will start immediately. Sadie Kane is temporary Chief Lector by instructions of Amos Kane, who unfortunately couldn't make the meeting tonight."

"What deems more important than this meeting?" A woman asked abruptly.

"He is in Rome," Sadie started calmly. "On the topic of Romans and Greeks possibly having contact with the Per Ankh, he went to seek out information on their Gods. Unfortunately, he couldn't make a portal to be back in time for this." She laid out the perfect little lie Kyra thought up. "You guys know how he gets when he's studying, just gets far too enveloped that he ignores the world."

"We'll start with the plans to rebuild the First Nome," I continued on. "Both Sadie and I investigated the ruins directly after receiving the news. There happens to be a sea of thick black mud marking where the Nome once stood. I'm not sure if this mud will disappear or stay part of Cairo from now on. Amos is looking into it as we speak. It appears though, that we will have to move the First Nome. Also, if you wish to see the ruins, please don't get too close to the mud."

"There are rumors running around that we have received contact with Romans and Greeks. I assure you that this rumor is a lie. I will be hunting down the magician that started it and they won't be given a small punishment," I informed.

"There is another rumor that supports it. Osiris has been speaking with Greek children and investigating an interesting 'hole' in the Duat." A man wearing an oversized coat spoke up. "Is that also a lie?"

"No, it is very true to its word," Amos' familiar voice spoke out. "The execration preformed on Apophis has apparently torn this hole and bleeding Greeks out."

Everyone's eyes darted to the stairs, Amos bowed towards me after taking the last step. "Pharaoh, I am _deeply_ sorry for my late arrival," he apologized immediately.

I took in the freshly pressed clothing he is wearing, red of course. His hair was even braided, red beads along with it. He is even wearing the Chief Lector's leopard cape that looked like it never took a dip in 'Lake Hall of Ages'. Amos appeared as if nothing had happened since the arrival of the two Greek demigods.

"May I suggest to everyone to never try the airport in Rome? It's _far_ too busy for you to get anywhere." Amos advised as he sat beside Sadie on the podium, gesturing her to stay put.

"I have personally met eight demigods while in Rome for my research. They're only a few years older than Carter. Currently, they are fighting an earth Goddess by the name of Gaia, or Terra. This Goddess performed the First Nome incident in an attempt to start a war between our worlds," Amos continued on topic. "A declaration of war in my opinion. I suggest we send magicians to aid them as soon as we can. Gaia has plans to raise Apophis through a chaotic war between us; she _will_ do anything to achieve it. I advise a truce with them towards defeating this Goddess."

A large roar of protest stirred up the room; some of the leaders even stood up to shout but couldn't be heard through the yelling. Amos' hands clenched into fists, but his expression remained calm. A minute passed of this uproar going on, and I was watching my uncle show signs of wincing that the leaders didn't care to notice.

"Shut up!" Sadie finally screamed above the chaos in the Great Room. "Bloody hell, all of you make Carter and I look mature."

They started to finally quiet down. "Amos, you of all people know what happened between the three worlds!" A woman snarled. "They easily consumed us by screwing up our Gods and charging in to control our lands."

Amos sighed, a rather irritated sigh, as he gestured her to sit down. "Yes they did, it led to too many lives being lost and us nearly losing our way of life. I know _very_ well the threat they are. However, we are leading a new age. I shouldn't have to explain it to you, I'm certain you all heard the rumors. Carter is our first Pharaoh since then, we have a chance at changing up history again. We are _obviously_ more powerful than they will probably ever be, but they have a few tricks up their sleeves as well that I am sure we can find beneficial."

"They'll turn against us," another man growled.

"Unless we play our cards right," Amos continued. "We are currently dancing on the edge of their swords. They are scared of us as much as we are to them. But if we can express that fear towards each other, we might reach a common understanding. A threat from _any_ God will mean absolutely nothing if we can keep such a bond with the other two. This is our chance to stop hiding and join hands with what was our enemy from long ago."

_You shouldn't listen to such poisoned words._ Horus scorned. _Don't you recall that he hosts my uncle?_

_Horus, you are an idiot,_ I defended, you_ tried to stray me away from finding Ra, saying it was bad news. Grow up and accept the changes around you._

"You won't have to be concerned on the topic." Amos reassured the grumbling that threatened to start again. "I will arrange the members of our group that will aid them, and they will only be made up of who I think would do best for the group."


	32. Chapter 32

-Kyra Teal-

The leaders started to leave after two hours, irritated by the manner of which the big situations are being handled. "Thank the Gods," Amos praised for a second. "I feel like crap."

"Amos, what happened?" Carter asked immediately as I urged Jaz to go down the stairs, me following close behind.

"Long story, I'm just exhausted and sore," He tried to reassure, but found a hard time standing.

"Not just that, you're still struggling to breathe," Jaz continued. "When I say you shouldn't move, that _means_ you don't fucking move, got it? You should be dead with how badly your organs are pressed against each other. I'm surprised none of them have burst yet."

Amos gave a nervous laugh. "I couldn't let Carter and Sadie get chewed out during this meeting," He started.

"You should have, you insistent brat," I snarled. "I even thought up a good enough excuse for you being gone."

"Hold on, what happened?" Sadie asked again.

"Not a good time to be asking," Jaz informed. "Carter, want to help me get him to his room?"

Carter obviously agreed and they led Amos to his old room, Sadie and I following slowly behind them. They gently got him on the bed and Jaz immediately went to checking his condition, hand over his head for a few seconds. "You strained yourself further with this little stunt you wished to pull," she confirmed angrily. "Not like my job was going to be difficult beforehand."

"You think you can space them out a little more?" I worried. "Without causing any more problems to his list, of course."

"She can," Amos reassured.

"And how the hell would you know?" I snapped.

"Uh, yeah, I'm not certain I can do it properly myself," Jaz admitted.

"Being pompous has its luck sometimes," Carter started. "You're a fantastic healer, you can do this."

Jaz sighed. "Okay, I need everyone out of here," she finalized.


	33. Chapter 33

-Sadie Kane-

"What's going on?" Felix took in our anxious expressions in the Great Room.

"Amos is sick," Kyra lied quickly before anyone could have an opportunity to strike panic in the mansion, "but Jaz is looking into getting him out of the funk."

"Oh, like a cold?" Felix continued.

"Yes, definitely a cold," Carter replied. "And it's made him pretty tired too."

I could barely focus on the meeting once I noticed his breathing pattern was far too heavy and yet strangled at the same time. But you have to hand it to Amos for being a perfect little actor, or maybe it was just the leaders not truly giving a shit about the Chief Lector. Jaz's angry rant worried me further. How did he survive if it is as bad as she made it sound?

"Why did he show up to the meeting then if he was sick?" Cleo asked as her eyebrows rose.

"Well, he's Chief Lector. They won't let him get away with missing a meeting for the common cold," Kyra informed. "They'll throw a hissy fit, and there just will be no end to it."

"Oh, poor Amos," Felix empathized.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Felix managed to distract a good portion of the initiates with the penguins running freely in the mansion. This left Kyra, Carter, and I waiting for news from Jaz. "Nothing yet?" Walt asked.

Kyra nodded and gestured him to sit next to her. "Did you catch anything about what happened?" She asked.

"The Greeks with him said that he just irritated the giant a little and was simply flicked into a cave wall. Ribs crushed from the front and back is what Jaz reported," Walt spoke grimly. "One of them also mentioned killing the giant with a God, and I have a bad feeling it may have been Set."

"What makes you think that?" Carter asked.

"They were nervous around Amos, like he was a bomb about to blow up at any given time," Walt clarified.

Alarmed silence was shared between the four of us. "So, he got _flicked_ and is practically on his death bed?' I asked for clarification. "And Set may have taken advantage and possessed Amos while he was in such a weak state?"

"Amos might have let him," Carter suggested, "to not be completely helpless during the fight, I mean."

Kyra nodded in agreement, "I'm certain that is what happened, or at least something similar to it."

Five minutes passed when Jaz came down the stairs and nodded towards us. "Okay, I think our problem is over. Going to wait until morning and see how he feels though to make certain."

"Is he sleeping then?" Kyra asked to make certain.

Jaz huffed out of exhaustion. "I had to force him to before I could do anything," she confirmed. "So everyone should just get some shut eye, and we'll see tomorrow morning."


	34. Chapter 34

-Amos Kane-

Everything started to fall into a normal pattern once again, with the exception that the children of Brooklyn House were still in an odd calm manner since the meeting. No penguins causing havoc, no dragons leaping off printer paper, just a horrific calmness that I couldn't help but be concerned. Not even Sadie and Carter had their usual routine of arguing.

I watched as a group entered the gym for Carter's Magic Problem-Solving 101 class. Complete order that made me wonder what kind of hell was brewing in their thoughts for such rebellious calmness in the Twenty-first Nome. I watched from the doorway as Carter stirred up one of the fighting shabtis for their lesson. Julian and Alyssa fighting alongside each other for a few minutes.

"Kane," A familiar voice spoke abruptly that I literally jumped an inch off the ground and looked over my right shoulder.

Janet stopped for a second to take in my response. "You okay?" She hesitated to ask.

I cleared my throat and shot her a nervous smile. "Just fine, actually. You?" I asked to calm my nerves.

Her eyes took me in for another second before she continued. "I have a list of complaints for you." She started, unsure if she should continue.

"Oh yes, I've heard from several of the kids here," I admitted, "and seen how the House has been working with you around. I don't agree with it at all, but the Kanes are just not the type to rely on others usually-"

"They don't respect me as the adult," Janet snarled. "That _goddess_ lets them do whatever they want, and Sadie and Carter make the situation ten times worse!"

I laughed nervously in response. "Bast isn't exactly a parent; she's just the Goddess of Family. She's more about fighting for family-"

"You don't have to give me the rundown Chief Lector, I already know," Janet continued. "But I can't enforce much on these kids with the Kane children letting them get away with their chaos."

"I understand, but that chaos represents a sense of normality to them." I started quickly. "They don't accept change, and they won't because of the Kane stubbornness-"

"You're a Kane yourself, why don't you tell them to start listening?" Janet snapped.

I sighed in response, "I've tried-"

"Not enough," Janet confirmed. "So, since you are here, I wish to return to Seattle."

I nodded in understanding. "As you wish, thank you for watching over them for as long as you have." I thanked before she stormed off, getting her things ready to probably go before I can change my mind.

I sighed to ease my racing pulse thanks to the mini heart attack she gave me. _You are getting far too tense._ Set started up worriedly.

_You can't tell me this isn't the quiet before the storm, Set._ I defended on the point of the children's odd behavior over the past month. _They must know something is going on._

"Hey, everything okay?" Kyra asked, words lined with concern.

I sighed and finally calmed myself down towards my cousin. "Oh, just sent Janet back to the Forty-sixth Nome," I summed up.

Kyra nodded once in understanding. "I'm surprised it took her this long to talk to you about it. You would not believe how many times she ranted about missing Seattle."

"Don't you?" I started, wondering why she insisted on staying in New York rather than be the leader she is for her Nome.

"I have my moments Amos, but I prefer to be beside my family and ensure their safety each day," Kyra explained. "Especially with the way everything has been since you've been back. You know, these kids were uncontrollable until you got here."

"I've noticed," I dully admitted. "You hear any rumors being exchanged between them by any chance?"

"No, Sadie and Carter are nervous by it too," Kyra added, "and it's not just them I'm concerned over. You've been jumpy since."

I smirked, trying to let her words slip my mind altogether. "I don't know what you are talking about-"

"So when you tensed to Alyssa screwing up the clay spell that instead turned to mud in the veranda, _that's_ nothing?" She questioned.

"Tense? To that? I might have been a tad empathetic to her frustration-" I continued.

"No relation to Lake Hall of Ages." Kyra rolled her eyes out of irritation.

"Lake Hall-?" I questioned.

"Yeah, that's what it's being called," Kyra confirmed. "Amos, I think I would be decently scared too-"

"Kyra, the only thing that scares me is the idea that Brooklyn House might be her next target. I don't want these kids getting caught up in it," I spoke quickly.

"I think it's time you've accepted that the Twenty-first Nome has been dragged into it no matter what we do," Kyra continued. "Also, you have yet to discuss who is in the group that will join the demigods-"

"I've been overlooking their studies." I interrupted quickly. "And I have a rough idea of who will go. But I'm waiting until the demigods come before announcing."

"The demigods are coming here?" Kyra stood in alarm.

"Ah yes, I already discussed that with them. They said it would take a while, but they're repairing the ship before I portal them here," I confirmed.

"And when did you gain contact with them?" Kyra hesitated to ask.

"I just gave them instructions before we left." I corrected. "I came upon an interesting topic when with Mimas."

"Mimas?" She questioned further.

"Oh, that was the giant's name." I confirmed. "Anyways, I believe the majority of our group will be built of Godlings, turns out that would be highly beneficiary towards their situation."

"And Set helped you discover that?" Her eyebrows rose.

"Uh, kind of." I hesitated to answer, knowing how they all feel towards Set.

Kyra's expression hardened, which I expected. "Do you plan on going?"

"No, and that's the same with Carter." I confirmed. "Sadie will lead, and Isis is on her side-"

"You're letting your _niece_ go out there without any family to watch her back?" Kyra judged.

"Give me a break, Walt will be going as well." I reassured. "Not sure about Zia, I think I will let her decide. Then a few others that I think will prove helpful."

"And I assume you want to play sitting ducks here?" Kyra asked next.

"I don't think that would be wise." I admitted grimly. "We'll have to visit another Nome soon."

"Nome jumping?" She asked for clarification.

I sighed before nodding. "It's what we will have to resort to with such a threat lingering around us."


	35. Chapter 35

**I suspect I'll get flames for changing how the Gods match up (Egyptian to Greek/Roman). I changed a few because i think some match better with a different God.**

**Thanks for reading! I appreciate your reviews!**

-Leo Valdez-

Once we went through the portal Amos has planned for us to fly through, Jason whistled in awe. "You sure that's it?" He asked Percy.

"Yep, you see how it tries to look transparent?" Percy pointed out.

"Yeah, that's freaky." Frank continued. "But magicians are into that kind of thing hu?"

"After that possession incident, I wouldn't be surprised." Piper reminded, sending a chill between everyone that entered the cave in the first place.

I wasn't there, but seeing him board the ship was enough to scare me. Blood red eyes and a rather hungry looking grin, and then collapsed so Percy and Jason had to help Nico get him inside. "Yeah, I've been thinking about that." Jason hesitated to start. "If we could have an Egyptian God in our group that will make things ten times easier."

"No, that was too much creepy for a day." Percy started. "I wasn't sure if we would have to attack that guy or not."

"Percy," Annabeth started, "the Kanes had mentioned hosting Gods, and that Amos is hosting the 'irritable uncle'. What else could you expect after being warned repeatedly?"

"Plus 'Set' kept getting pissed off at us for fighting the giant with him if you don't recall." Nico added. "Something about the Chief Lector wanting our safety."

"Also, I can see why Amos is always in such an irritable mood if he has to put up with a God like that twenty-four seven." Annabeth continued. "Easily reminded me of Ares."

"Agreed." Percy continued. "Pompous and annoying, but I suppose they both have a right to be with their combat skills."

Silence for a two minutes. "So, we all are going in?" I asked.

Everyone gave me questionable looks. "Okay Leo, we'll let you come with. But promise you won't freak him out any more than we have." Jason smirked. "Actually, all of us will with the exception of Coach. Can't have him destroying their place."

Everyone agreed in response. "You think I can land on the roof?" I asked.

"Amos said it was okay." Percy explained. "But be wary, there's a griffin there as well."


	36. Chapter 36

-Sadie Kane-

"Uh, Chief Lector?" Felix started nervously. "There's eight kids requesting to see you on the roof."

Amos jumped immediately to his feet and gestured me to follow. I hesitated, but did because I'm sure there was something important to it if he only want me to go. On the roof, Freak was squawking as eight kids stood in front of a weirdly built flying ship. Amos gestured me to stay a foot behind him.

"Welcome to the Twenty-first Nome of the Per Ankh, demigods." He started first as the kids held cautious expressions towards him. "I didn't exactly get to properly introduce myself last time, so I will do the honor now. Chief Lector Amos Kane of the Per Ankh, Eye of Set. This is my niece, Sadie Kane, Eye of Isis."

"Uh, hi again." Percy started nervously. "You know Annabeth and I. This is Jason, Hazel, Leo, Frank, Nico, and Piper." He listed in order.

I faced my uncle out of interest. "I think you left a great impression on them already, Amos." I pointed out their wariness.

Amos nervously laughed. "Uh, I suppose I should quickly explain the God thing too."

"We already did." Annabeth reassured. "Just, it was weird." She hesitated to admit.

"Set's an ass, be lucky you survived." I dryly explained. "Anyways, we're about to have dinner if you would like to join us in the veranda." I decided to welcome them in instead of letting this tension continue.

"Yes, then I will announce who is joining." Amos finalized quickly. "This way."


	37. Chapter 37

-Carter Kane-

I shot my sister a nervous look, which she just shrugged off as she gestured the new kids to join the table. "Are they the demigods?" I asked Amos immediately.

"Yes, Romans and Greeks." He quickly informed. "I suggest you let me speak diplomacy, otherwise we'll have to discuss the story again." He advised.

I nodded in understanding and watched them quickly make friends with the initiates. Only a few of us knew what they were doing here, for Amos insisted to keep it secret until he decided to spill what needed to be said. And of course I left it to Amos, for he's, for obvious reasons, better at the leading game than I am.

Once everyone finished, Amos stood and gained everyone's attention. The calm focus from Brooklyn House still freaked me out beyond belief, and apparently Amos was halfway surprised as well. "I believe we have warmed up towards each other." He started slowly. "I will start with the other two first. Percy and Jason, please stand."

Percy stood at the same time as a blonde kid roughly his age. "Percy is the leader of the Greeks, whereas Jason is to the Romans." Amos clarified. "And to the curious eyes; yes, their Gods exist just as much as ours do."

"Uh, what?" Julian managed to speak through the mix of alarm and confusion amongst our initiates.

Kyra hesitated. "Don't play dumb, we are fully aware you guys were listening to the meeting last month."

Cleo's eyes widened. "How did you-?"

"You left the book open in the library," Amos clarified to her.

She stood up and quickly bowed towards us. "I'm _so_ sorry, it _won't_ happen again, I swear-"

"Cleo, you should sit." I reassured, which Amos nodded in agreement.

"So, who's the Pharaoh I keep hearing is stirring problems on your end?" Jason hesitated to speak.

Percy's eyes darted at the Roman demigod immediately. "Dude, wrong question-"

The initiates gave them confused looks and turned immediately to me. "Uh, the Pharaoh is _about_." I quickly made up.

"He is none of your concern, is who he is." Amos laid a hidden threat in his tone. "If you need anything from the Per Ankh, you will only speak to me. Now that we've clarified that, let's continue to who will be joining you."

"Yeah, I think we can go with an Egyptian God and we'll-" Jason stopped when Amos' glare landed on him again. "Or do what you want, that's cool."

"I'm sending a group with you, to represent the House of Life." Amos started. "The leader of this group is Sadie Kane, and she happens to host a goddess. Walt, Julian, Jaz, Felix, and Sean will accompany her."

"That makes a team of fourteen." Annabeth confirmed. "Or two teams of seven if we ever need to split."

"Uh, Amos?" Sadie nervously started. "What about Carter?"

Everyone but Amos' eyes landed on me again. "He isn't a valid pick for this quest. He'll be accompanying me to the Nomes while you help the demigods." Amos lied again; he's getting really accustomed to it recently.

Sadie peered at me now. "Yeah, the Chief Lector is going to need my help with the crisis we have going on-"

"What other crisis is going on other than this?" Sean asked.

"It wasn't discussed at the meeting, but the other Nomes are encountering what they _think_ may be signs of plagues." Kyra lied for us. "But no one is certain, foreseeing such a disaster is difficult."

"Yes it is, but it will require leadership through it if that kind of mayhem occurs." Amos supported, but the initiates didn't seem like they really accepted it. "Sadie, I trust you will keep peace between our worlds."

Sadie sighed and nodded towards Percy and Jason. "I won't kill anyone intentionally." She grumbled. "When do we want to head out?"

"As soon as we can would be best." Percy confirmed. "We need to resupply at Camp Half-blood and give them a few updates."

"Good, we'll get ready now and meet up by your weird flying machine." Sadie finalized before leaving with the rest of her group.

Percy faced Amos again. "Is it okay if we resupply on food while we're here?"

Amos smirked. "Take whatever you want. I honestly didn't think you would ask."

"I have a question!" A demigod named Leo, I believe, started in an excited manner. "You are Amos Kane from Jagged Blue, right?"

My right eyebrow rose in reaction and Amos couldn't help but smile. "Uh, yeah I am."

"Oh boy…" A girl named Hazel muttered.

"Why haven't you guys done a gig in two years now?" Leo continued.

"Well, there was a list of things that happened within that time frame. I can't juggle the duties of Chief Lector and jazz tenor for a gig." Amos informed. "So I picked Chief Lector, but I still play, just not at minor bars or little get-togethers."

"I thought you played for fun, not for a band." I continued.

Amos grinned in response. "Don't recall those odd trips you and Julius took to small restaurants just because a _jazz_ band was playing there that night?"

I easily recalled them. Dad was always ecstatic about jazz. If he saw one playing close by, that is where we were. I guess you could say I was pretty hooked on the genre, and the different sounds the saxophones could make to express any mood. "Wait, did we seriously attend a few of your gigs?" I asked out of awe.

"Julius and Amos may have been distant for a time, but Julius liked pushing his luck." Kyra added. "The Per Ankh would get testy about it each time, accuse Amos of having contact."

"There were times I was getting chewed out and I didn't even see him there." Amos complained. "Anyways, do you play?" He asked Leo.

"No, I don't think I would do too well at it either." Leo grumbled. "Anyways, dude, you rule the jazz world."

"I don't know about that, but thank you." Amos admitted. "And since you brought it up, I may have to call the gang up and see about arranging a few more gigs for old time sake."

"Once Armageddon is done and over with, again." I continued dryly.

"Yes, if we can ever get a break." Amos agreed.

* * *

"We'll be in Seattle for a week, then maybe Los Angeles." I started. "You know, looking at the supposed signs."

Sadie glared at me now, which I shrugged off. "You heard Amos, Sadie. Can't go around announcing it." I reminded.

"I know, but wouldn't it be best if you came with us?" She asked now.

"Uh, I'm starting to believe Amos might need my help." I started. "Especially with the way he came home, he's going to need someone to have his back when she decides to harass him again."

Sadie let out a sad sigh. "You're going to call and tell me you're okay every night. I bought you a cellphone for a good reason."

"Yeah yeah, Amos will remind me." I rolled my eyes. "_You_ should be careful out there. You'll be in the danger zone more than me."

Sadie suddenly went for a hug, which I returned just as quickly as she tried to hold back scared tears. "Hey, we'll pull through like the other three times." I reassured, but I wasn't sure really what to say without lying to my little sister.

"How sure are you?" She spoke into my right shoulder.

"_Very_," I assured. "Because even if Amos and I run into Gaia, I'll make sure we live through it for you."

She looked up at me, her eyes turning a shade of red. "I'll promise the same then." She decided.

I pulled her into another hug and then stood up. "You ready to lead a group of immaturity?" I asked to cheer her up.

She hesitated, but nodded as she gathered her bag to stand. "It will be _far_ more mature than if it is just you and me."

"Oh, that's right, Walt will equal out whatever weird questions pop out of your big mouth-" I teased as she playfully punched my left shoulder.

"The magical penguins will do a better job of fighting than you do anyways. So I'm in good hands." Sadie teased back and dashed to the roof, which I ran after her.

We relaxed on the roof, eyes on us and everything. It's too bad we just can't be kids anymore and do whatever the hell we wish without someone to judge. "I'll make sure Carter calls." Amos reassured Sadie when he hugged her goodbye.

"And we'll make sure your niece comes back in one piece." Jason added.

Sadie sighed and faced the group of magicians coming with her. "Okay guys, we have a long couple of days ahead. Let's get it over with." She led them onto the ship with the demigods following after.

Amos chuckled as we watched them leave. "Your sister has the oddest way of leading." He confirmed as we both went back inside.

"That's why she usually doesn't." I added. "And she's your niece."

Amos smirked in reaction. "So it's my job to make sure you two can lead without making people laugh too much?"

"Hey, you're the one who tried to pull the guardian card on us a month ago if you don't remember."


	38. Chapter 38

-Sadie Kane-

Half an hour later, we found ourselves standing in the middle of a Greek camp. To my surprise, they happen to be in Manhattan, faking to be a strawberry field. Explains mom's sight on other gods equaling more trouble. Even more, Amos insisting that Manhattan is bad news.

Percy approached with some weird horse guy, who warily continued towards me. "You said Kane, right?" The horse/man said.

"Sadie Kane, that's my name." I confirmed, but he ignored me and focused on water boy.

"Yeah, know the name?" Percy wondered.

"There was a mistake twenty years ago, a Julius Kane ended up in our camp. Found out he was a magician and we had _quite_ a fight with Chief Lector Iskandar on the topic of what to do from there." He huffed in an irritated manner.

"Wait, my _dad_ was here before?" I took in my surroundings with more awareness to the thought.

"Well, uh, they have a new Chief Lector, and he figured it would be best not to keep dancing circles around each other and pretending we don't exist." Percy started.

"Yeah, that wasn't the deal though." The dude snapped. "So you can go back and tell this new guy that the wall stays up." He snarled when he faced me.

"Chiron, I think we should go with what Chief Lector Kane wants. He's a creepy dude when pissed off." Percy warned.

Chiron, I guess that is his name, snorted in response. "Julius is Chief Lector now?"

"Actually, Amos is," I corrected quickly. "Julius' little brother."

Chiron took me in finally. "Did your uncle tell you of our past?" He demanded.

"Yes, and several others, actually," I confirmed easily. "And we can change it here and now by joining hands once you get over yourself."

He didn't obviously take too kindly to my attitude, but Percy smiled for a quick second before saving me from getting stomped on. "The Chief Lector wasn't sure he wanted to help us either. But we ended up repeatedly running into each other anyways. I guess you can say Hera/Juno made it obvious that we need to group up with the Egyptians too."

"I will need to exchange a few words with this Amos first." Chiron informed. "There were a number of laws involved in separating our worlds."

"A little late then." I started. "The Chief Lector is currently Nome hopping as we speak."

"Gnome hopping?" Chiron gave me a weird look.

I laughed for a second. "No, N-O-M-E, Amos _hates_ gnomes."

"I don't blame him for that." Chiron snorted. "I guess we will have to take your word then. There won't be any fights occurring during your travels, will there?" His eyes stayed on me.

"I promised the Per Ankh that I would keep peace on our end." I explained.

"What harm will another world joining us cause?" Percy shrugged off.

Chiron glared at Jackson in response. "The Egyptians are _far_ more different than we are. They will be much more difficult to understand than it was with the Romans."

"It's a learning experience for everyone," I added. "So long as we are in agreement that we keep peace, there shouldn't be any problems."


	39. Chapter 39

-Walt Stone-

"So, what's up?" Jason decided to strike a conversation as we waited on the ship.

"A lot of things you wouldn't understand naturally." I summed up in a harsh tone.

He nodded in understanding, to which I don't think he would. "You said you are dating Sadie, right?"

"Yeah, why?" I restrained from getting irritated.

"I can see you two are alike." Jason pointed out.

"Yeah, they both hate you." Nico added quickly. "You really did look like an idiot tonight."

"All I did was ask a question and everyone tensed up like I threatened them with a nuke."

"That's because you practically did." Annabeth started. "Since we are in the air, we can safely discuss it. You know that Carter kid that was sitting next to Amos? _He_ is the Pharaoh."

Jason laughed her words off, to which I glared at him. "You're kidding, right? He's really young-"

"No joke." Jaz spoke up finally. "And it has to be bad if Amos is practically defending him like that."

"When we found him, Mimas appeared to be keeping the Chief Lector hostage to lure the Pharaoh." Frank added.

"And we could have died that day if that God hadn't showed up." Piper continued.

Silence for half a minute. "You mean Set?" I hesitated to ask.

They nodded in response. "Possession, or did it seem like a cooperative thing?" I continued.

"Set said something along the lines of possessing." Nico confirmed. "But I guess he was following rules Amos had set for him. Let him possess to protect us, if I remember right."

Sean let out a grin. "Yeah, that sounds like Amos."

Felix whimpered at the thought. "Will Amos be okay?" He asked me.

I placed my right hand on his head and brushed through his hair. "Yeah, like always." I reassured. "It's not _technically_ possession if he let him. It was still cooperative in a sense, but Set was handed a little more faith to do the right thing."

"And he obviously fell through with it." Julian added in agreement. "Risky move though."

"Anything that deals with Set is a risky move." Jaz reminded.

"Hey, Leo wanted me to tell you he got the go ahead to land now," Hazel announced. "And the Greeks are going to want to meet all of us."


	40. Chapter 40

-Annabeth Chase-

Jason must have been a fighting mood tonight, for he repeatedly crossed lines with some of the Greeks as well. Thankfully, Piper decided to charm speak him to shut up and practically keep to himself. Moreover, as the Egyptians may have been fantastic hosts towards us in Brooklyn, the Greeks were the opposite in return. Sadie and Walt eventually led them towards a tree, away from the bonfire in the center of camp.

Percy took in my focus on them. "It's going to be far more difficult for us to adjust compared to the Romans," he informed. "I guess there was an issue years ago that involved a magician getting in the camp. Tense edges, even worse that apparently the magician back then is the smurf."

"Julius Kane?" I asked for confirmation, which Percy hesitated to nod. "Well, I'm going to be a better host and get to learn more about them anyways." I decided as I stood up.

"Okay, I'll stay here and help get them adjusted to the idea," Percy decided.

I nodded with a smile and approached the tree, to which they watched me with curiosity. "Can I join the party?" I asked.

Sadie Kane grinned in response. "It isn't as 'raving' as the one over there, but sure."

I promptly sat between Felix and Jaz. "I'm sorry that they are being selfish brats towards you guys. Especially with how hospitable you were towards us even."

Sadie waved it off. "We're kind of used to being the outsiders," she explained.

My expression hardened as I took in their nods of agreement. "May I ask you guys something? I don't know how badly it will cross you, but it's an interesting subject in my opinion," I started.

"The Gods, right?" Walt asked for verification.

I sighed before nodding, "How did some of you end up hosting them in the first place?"

"Well, it was forced on some of us," Sadie started, "but the rest have chosen what path they wish to follow."

"Forced?" I worried.

Sadie closed her eyes for a second. "My mother was a diviner, can see the future basically. She foresaw the Lord of Chaos breaking from his prison. So our parents released Bast, who was locked in a _very_ long fight with him, resulting in my mother's death. It also caused the Kanes to be a disgraced name within the Per Ankh."

"Then they are idiots, the Kanes are some of the nicest people I've had an opportunity to meet," I defended.

"Three years ago, having contact with a God or Goddess was treason," Walt explained. "They were constantly being banished, that was a goal for the House of Life to keep up. Julius became an outlaw, and it's a wonder that Amos didn't get grouped in that as well."

"Oh, so what happened from there?" I wondered.

"Six years later, dad released five gods when he only meant to release Osiris," Sadie hesitated to continue. "Isis, Horus, Nephthys, and Set escaped as well."

I swallowed down some of that information, recognizing four of the five names, _especially_ Set. "Our dad gave Carter and I some amulets that we found out later were symbols for Horus and Isis, practically a sign for them to pick us. Nephthys chose Zia Rashid, another Blood of the Pharaohs. And Set, well, Amos was the unlucky one for being there at the wrong time."

Erie silence between us for a minute. "I'm sorry I asked-" I finally spoke up.

"No, it's okay, honestly," Sadie reassured even though I could tell it hurt to remember. "Because even though we were forced into their freak show, we gained more than most can imagine. And I'm not talking about the annoying Gods in our heads; I'm talking the value of family. And better, the value of friends immediately after the fact."

I easily took in the family tightness the Kanes had while Percy and I were with them, and it honestly made me jealous. But to know now that it's because they have more in common than just blood is something entirely. "So, you guys seem pretty nervous around Set too," I pointed out.

Walt sighed, "Set is the God of Chaos, he isn't exactly a good guy. In the recording Sadie and Carter sent out for initiates, he basically was a pawn to the serpent's release if it wasn't for Sadie and Carter stopping him. And really, Set's lucky that he didn't get a worse punishment. 'Hosts' of Set are typically his pawns, he possesses them until they wind up getting hunted down by the House of Life or he burns them up."

I tensed to the thought, recalling Luke. "And yet Amos seems content with the fact?"

Sadie shrugged, "I despise Isis to this day, despite the fact that she's helped quite a bit. I _hate_ Set for obvious reasons, but I think Amos is on understanding terms with him."


	41. Chapter 41

-Zia Rashid-

I watched as Amos stood frozen before a Seattle Victorian house, the rest of us trying to get a response from him. "I don't think you've been here before," Kyra started, "and _I_ don't even know who lives here."

"Do you not see it?" Amos finally managed.

"Uh, no," Carter admitted.

"The house? Grass? Sprinkler? Garden gnome? Pine tree-" I started listing what I could see on the property.

"Stop!" Amos announced.

"The pine tree? Seriously?" Kyra smacked the back of her cousin's head.

"_No_, the ceramic demon staring at out bas," he corrected. "The grin that lies by portraying innocence. Look, it even has a pitchfork!"

"Uh, Amos, it's just a gnome," Carter pointed out.

Kyra suddenly burst into hilarious tears. "Hey, you weren't chased down by an army of them before!" Amos protested to his cousin's reaction.

"I'm _really_ at a loss," I admitted.

"Thoth sent an army of these cute guys after Julius, Michel, and Amos once for simply being irritating," Kyra managed to calm down. "Apparently, all three gained an intense fear of them since."

Carter nodded out of understanding, but I was still at a loss to the idea of a mass-produced garden gnome sending a chill down out Chief Lector's spine. "How much further until the Forty-sixth Nome?" Alyssa asked.

"Few more blocks," Kyra continued. "Let's go, Chief Lector."

His eyes were still on the grinning gnome. After looking at it long enough, the carved smile kind of did freak me out. Everyone, except Kyra, jumped to an arrow shattering his face to the grass. "All hail me for killing the evil garden gnome! Hooray! Now let's go," Kyra snapped.


	42. Chapter 42

-Sadie Kane-

"Seriously Sadie, you brought your combat boots for this trip?" Walt stood in disgust.

"It's a temporary thing Walt; I'll slip out of them if there's trouble," I explained. "Which I highly doubt there will be with fourteen of us."

"They're actually pretty sweet," Frank spoke with admiration as he took in the boots I am wearing.

"Thank you, however they disrupt spells," I informed, "a downside to great footwear."

"Don't you host a God?" Jason asked. "Can't that make it an exception?"

"That would be great, except no," I continued. "Plus I _hate_ having to turn to Isis; she's a bitch to have in your head. She considers everyone a willful sacrifice, makes you want to put your wand to your temple."

Jaz shot me a nervous smile in response, "Please don't, I can't recover brain mush."

"That's the point Jaz," I grinned, "but I'm a 'representative' of the Per Ankh on this trip, so I guess I'm stuck breathing a little longer. And if I did, I'm sure I'll probably get lecture from Amos on the subject-"

"On suicide? Wow," Julian laughed nervously. "He doesn't seem _that_ harsh-"

"That was a joke," I explained, "he might as well with everything he has already lectured me on."

"He is the guardian of two Kane children that rarely listen to him in the first place," Walt reminded quickly. "I'm surprised he hasn't tried to punish you two yet."

"Anyways, Jaz," I turned to her immediately to change the subject, "did Amos say why he didn't want you to go with them?"

Jaz's eyes widened, "I didn't think to ask. You think they are going to get in trouble?"

"With the Kane's luck, Amos will get into more trouble with this Gaia and Carter will leap into the struggle," I huffed off. "But that's okay; we probably need you more than they do."

Uncomfortable silence on the ship followed my words for two minutes. "How does a kid like him get to the position of Pharaoh in the first place?" Jason asked.

My eyes narrowed in response to the Roman leader. "Carter possesses the weapons of Ra. During our fight against Apophis, Amos handed the throne to him."

"During? That's kind of bad timing," Percy commented.

"Judging the way we work things is like me judging your lack of intellect, Jackson," I snarled. "Besides, we were hyped up on adrenaline at the time that Carter didn't see reason to say no and led the House of Life through the fight."

"Wait, you still have Carter's secret name?" Jaz asked.

"What?" Walt's eyes widened in response as I laughed a bit.

"Yeah, and he doesn't have a clue," I grinned, which Jaz reflected easily.

"Whoa, how?" Julian asked me.

"A little Isis persuasion," I summed up. "It was to save him, and I don't have a reason to give it up if he doesn't know."

"Wouldn't that make you _above_ the Pharaoh then?" Sean wondered.

"Guys, I won't be using it to control my brother," I explained. "I just happen to know him even better than I have."


	43. Chapter 43

-Carter Kane-

Kyra opened the door to the Forty-sixth Nome to welcoming magicians. Apparently, a good portion of the magicians in this Nome was already aware that Kyra is the Chief Lector's cousin, so they spoke casually towards him. However, me being Pharaoh, they still kept formal, whispering going around amongst them as Kyra led us to our rooms.

"So, we only have two spare rooms," Kyra explained. "Alyssa and Zia will have to share, and Amos and Carter will make do with the other."

"Don't see a problem with that. Thank you for letting us stay here," Amos spoke gratefully.

Kyra rolled her eyes in response. "Well Amos, it's _not_ like I would refuse family," she grumbled under her breath. "This way girls. Amos, you two are in three hundred and one."

Amos gestured me to continue up the stairs to the third floor, then led me to a room all the way down the hall, the second to last. "Hu, right next door," he observed three hundred's door.

"What is it?" I asked.

He faced me abruptly and ignored the question by opening the door. It was spacy like the rooms in Brooklyn House, but only contained the simple furnishings compared to when Sadie and I were introduced to our rooms three years ago. Then again, I'm certain Amos checked up on our interests and stocked up before paying the Fausts a rude visit.

"So, I'll be taking the couch," Amos started immediately.

"Wait," I protested instantly, "the bed would probably be better for you-"

He waved it off, "I'm the uncle here, what I say goes."

"Well, we could rearrange the room a little and look into getting another bed in here-" I continued.

"Nope, and that is the end of that," Amos finalized. "Besides, I'll probably be reading up in the library while we are here."

I sighed towards his stubbornness, which he simply chuckled, "Well, it would be awfully rude of me, Carter. And you better get used to it; a majority of the Nomes are usually this full compared to Brooklyn House."

I rolled my eyes. "And no, you can't share a room with Zia," Amos immediately started. "I would rather not have to put up with two teenagers sharing a bed while we are practically in crisis mode."

I stood frozen to his words, yet my cheeks heated up as he rolled his eyes, setting a few things on the couch. "We're better than that, Amos," I managed to speak in defense.

"I'm sure you two are, so we're not going to push it," Amos stood his ground. "Besides, it would be weird for Alyssa to be stuck in a room with me."

He did have a point, so I relaxed and set my bag beside the bed. "We'll stay here for a week and move to the One hundred and ninth Nome," he informed. "And we'll change it up every week. Can't stay in one place for too long."

"And how long do you think we will have to keep this up?" I asked worriedly.

Amos sighed as his eyes saddened for a second, a good enough response for me, "Until the demigods and Sadie have managed to defeat the Goddess."

I was about to respond when a knocking sounded from the door. "Hey Amos," Kyra's voice started immediately through the door. "It appears Carter's appearance is causing a bit of panic in the Nome. You should come up with a good lie before leaving the room," she informed quickly.

"Okay, thanks for the warning," Amos replied immediately.

Silence for a few seconds. "How am I causing panic?" I hesitated to ask.

Amos glanced at me, deciding on what to say I suppose. "They're used to the idea that the Chief Lector is in charge, not so much the idea of a Pharaoh being around. Seeing you three here instead of staying in New York is an easy signal that something's up."

"Why am I here then?" I asked.

He closed his eyes for a second to exhale deeply. "We need to stick together," he managed to start when he opened his eyes. "She's been hunting the Pharaoh down, trying to use me to get to him. Might not be the best way to ensure the safety of you three, but I would prefer to be around if anything occurs."

I promptly sat on the bed, taking in the information. "Ever get sick of the Gods using us like chess pieces?" I asked.

Amos had a small smile appear. "Always have been, it's not like I'm about to appreciate them for destroying lives any time soon," he admitted. "The best way to cope, that I've discovered, is to not focus so much on the entities trying to control you and instead focus on the people around you."

I unfortunately took in that he would know better than I thanks to Set. "I'll remember that," I answered dryly, which he hesitated to nod out of approval.


	44. Chapter 44

-Amos Kane-

They seemed to buy the idea of us visiting for an examination of the Nome. After all, the thought of the First Nome seemed to still unsettle people to the point that they will practically believe anything I say now. With the lie I placed, the Seattle House welcomed Carter and his peers a little more than they had in the first place.

I dismissed myself to the library to get started on my studying once the dining room emptied. I rummaged through the shelves, ten historical books on Egypt and Greek relations, only one from Thoth himself. I started skimming through Thoth's first, for I can usually get more details in his writings than any other book.

"Hey Amos," Alyssa piped up suddenly, almost making me jump to the surprise.

"Alyssa, anything you needed to ask?" I wondered.

She took in the stack of books before replying. "Yeah, why am I coming along with you guys?" She hesitated, "I'm not very good at fighting, and I'm not as studied as you or Kyra or-"

"Have you been studying on the path of Geb still?" I interrupted quickly.

She froze to the question. "Uh, yeah."

"Good, there might come a day that we'll be relying on you in a fight," I explained quickly with a small smile of encouragement. "That's why you are traveling with us."

Her eyebrows rose out of confusion. "What is going on that requires Nome hopping?" She continued.

"We're examining the Nomes, making sure they are strong enough to defend against an abrupt sink hole," I informed in a round-about way.

"Like the First Nome?" Alyssa sat in the chair across from me.

I sighed and pushed Thoth's book a little to the left to focus on the current conversation. "The Greeks and Romans have an Earth Goddess, Gaia and Terra; it's the same deity whatever way you want to look at it. Anyways, she is about as power hungry as Apophis. In fact, she plans to cause a war between all three worlds to create enough Chaos to release him again. As you already know, we are _not_ prepared for another Apophis encounter, so it's best if we can keep him in the Duat a little longer."

Her expression started to reflect fear, so I cleared my throat to get back to my point. "Geb is _very_ capable of slowing Gaia down. That's why you are with us."

"And you think I can limit her?" She continued.

"Not certain, but it's worth a try in my opinion," I admitted dryly.

"I'm not that great at following Geb, I only know a few things-" She started to panic.

"Hold that thought," I interrupted again and fetched a book I nearly forgotten I had in my locker.

Alyssa's eyes widened to seeing the book show up in my right hand as I dusted it off. I handed it to her as she gently received it to read the title, "Geb, the Father Earth?"

"Thoth gave me that book twenty years ago," I started, "and of course, I skimmed through it and didn't really learn much from it other than what he is capable of. Perhaps he foresaw this, or maybe he just had too many copies of it that he had to hand it out. Who knows, but now it's yours to help you study even further."

She looked back at me in wonder, "Isn't Thoth a complicated writer?"

"He has his moments, and he likes to ramble," I confirmed. "If you need any assistance in understanding any of it, just ask me."

Silence as she took in the book for a few more seconds. "Thank you, Amos. I'll get started on reading it now, I'll try not to disappoint-"

I stopped her with my right hand. "You won't, so stop thinking you will," I assured. "I will see you in the morning, and make sure to sleep."

She nodded before leaving the library. I sighed and returned to the book.


	45. Chapter 45

-Walt Stone-

"Well, it's about bloody time you called!" Sadie immediately chewed her brother out when she picked up. "You guys forget or something?"

"Even when distanced, they still yell at each other," Jaz rolled her eyes.

"Then tell him to get his nose out of the books and to head to bed," Sadie snapped. "He can't afford losing sleep."

My right eyebrow rose in response. "Threaten to burn the library down then, that should get him moving!"

"Are they talking about the Chief Lector?" Sean wondered.

"You are such a wimp Carter," Sadie rolled her eyes. "Wait, you seriously let him take the couch? Why?"

"Sounds like it," I finalized for my fellow magicians.

"Ugh, I _can't_ even rely on you, can I?" Sadie complained.

"We should let them duke it out," I gestured my fellow magicians to go inside, "it's _way_ past the allotted curfew."

They grumbled, but went inside, leaving Sadie and I alone. "We're okay, still alive and whatnot," Sadie calmed down quickly. "Met Camp Half-blood."

Silence for five seconds. "They don't obviously trust us, and I'm sure they would have taken us out if it wasn't for the demigods with us," she continued.

I leaned against the side of the ship, to the left of Sadie as she nodded sadly. "Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Also, you're Pharaoh, Carter, stop letting Amos lead all the time; it's bad for his health," she sounded sincere. "He's going to end up looking like he's sixty instead of thirty-five."

She nodded and said her goodbye before hanging up to sigh. "How are they?" I asked softly.

"Great, as usual. They made it safely to Seattle. I guess Carter's appearance stirred up concern though," she summed up.

"Don't see how it wouldn't," I pointed out.

"Well, Amos has it under control so far," sadie continued. "And of course, Carter is _far_ more concerned about us than himself."

I grinned in response, "Why are you surprised? We're the ones dealing with the demigods firsthand."

"I _highly_ doubt they will try anything, I have a finely tuned team of magicians with me," Sadie pointed out with certainty. "Plus, this Goddess seems to have an interest in Amos. I think that's more life threatening than a pair of idiots leading intelligent beings on a flying ship."

I wrapped my right arm around her and went in for a kiss, which she hadn't refused. "You two worry _a lot_ about Amos, but I think he truly has everything tamed for the time being."

"But there are limitations as to how much you can keep the Chaos down," Sadie continued sadly. "Especially for a Chief Lector."


	46. Chapter 46

-Sadie Kane-

Walt and I had fallen asleep beside each other in the spare room the demigods offered for the magicians. And no, Felix and Jaz have the sole bed in the room, the rest of us have been either sleeping on the floor or up against the wall. And with Walt being the oldest of us, and me as leader, we weren't going to do anything other than exchange a few coy words and kiss.

Without our headpieces with us, we magicians are all sentenced to ba travels. Mine led me to a lovely mansion on the ocean coast. I wandered in to find it reminded me of Brooklyn House to a point. Intrigued, I wondered which Nome I was in until the library doors opened slowly. I watched Amos silently leave the library and left for the spiral stairs. Must be the Forty-sixth Nome in Seattle.

I followed him, but made sure to keep good distance between us seeing as he is Chief Lector. He went up two flights of the stairs and followed down the hall. I quietly stalked my uncle towards the end of the hall. "Kane," a wispy voice spoke, freezing both of us in response.

I quickly hid behind a miniature statue of Ra as Amos pulled his staff out and looked around to find himself alone. The door opened to the end of the hall to Kyra watching tiredly as her cousin tried to recover his nerves. "You okay?" She whispered.

"Never better," he assured, "what are you doing still being awake?"

"Worrying," she summed up. "You finally heading to bed?"

"No sure yet, at least going to check on Carter," Amos confirmed.

Kyra observed her cousin for two seconds, "What happened?"

"Just hallucinating, need to get some sleep," Amos lied.

Kyra's arms crossed stubbornly. "When are you going to stop lying to me?"

Amos frowned, "I'm pretty sure I've been hallucinating."

"You mean like the episode a year ago?" She worried.

Amos gave her a nervous smile, "You heard about that?"

Her expression hardened. "Everyone heard about you 'attacking' the First Nome. Vlad made sure of it."

"I bet he did," Amos grumbled.

"Think it could be a symptom?" Kyra offered.

Amos shrugged, "I've had other concerns since."

Silence for three seconds. "Okay, get some good sleep," Kyra waved goodnight as she entered her room again.

Amos faced me as soon as she closed the door, making me freeze. He rolled his eyes and gestured me to follow him to the room next door to Kyra's. I hesitated to and watched him quietly close the door and dispel a layer of magic on it. "If you're going to sneak up on me in ba form, at least _try_ to hide it," he grumbled.

I watched as he shifted his bag from the couch to the floor quietly as to not wake Carter. "I heard it too," I started.

He sighed as he sat down, "I know you did. But don't worry about us, she won't try anything with so many witnesses."

"Why would she call you like that?' I asked.

"Cause paranoia, Apophis had done the same," Amos explained dryly. "Enough about our problems, how is your group faring with the demigods?"

"This Jason kid is far more annoying than Percy," I started, "but otherwise we are doing okay. Met the camp; they don't like us."

"It will take a mutual trust for them to," Amos continued. "Which _will_ prove difficult, but you're the notorious Sadie Kane. You'll come across something that will help."

"Thanks for the leap of faith Uncle Amos," I muttered, "but I fear I will end up killing one of them if it keeps up."

He smiled for a second, "They come from a younger world; you must let their arrogance pass you like the wind. There is an Athenian child with them, I'm sure she will cooperate with you if the others won't."

"Annabeth is the only one that I actually like out of the lot of them," I admitted.

"Then you'll need to work on relations with the other seven," Amos continued. "She'll aid you; she knows what it means for the Per Ankh if you can achieve this."

"How sure are you on that?" I demanded.

"Very, don't let her appearance deceive you. She has her mother's wisdom, probably the only reason Percy is alive with his big mouth," Amos confirmed.

"That's for sure," I agreed quickly. "What were you and Kyra talking about?" I finally asked.

Amos froze to the thought before clearing his throat. "Heh, I suppose I never really told the full story on why I left Cairo as soon as I could," he started nervously. "I was recovering, and a long list of problems made themselves apparent. One morning, after encountering Menshikov, I _thought_ I was dealing with Apophis in the hall. Irrationally, I went to defend myself and it appeared as if I was making a surprise attack on the First Nome." He summed up quickly.

"You sure you were hallucinating?" I wondered myself. "You know about what happened to the Evil Ice Cream Man, right?"

"Yes, I'm _very_ aware. Michel and I discussed it on repeated occasions," Amos confirmed. "And you're probably right, but it's best to minimize panic by saying I am going crazy. Also, the name is Vladimir-"

"Might as well make the name a curse word," I suggested. "It's about as ugly as him too."

Amos rolled his eyes again, "You know, I don't know what I would do with myself without you and Carter making my day."


	47. Chapter 47

-Carter Kane-

I woke up to Amos yelling at me. Honestly, I never imagined I would see him do so, but he did this morning. "Don't give me that look, Carter," he scolded, "we are going to continue your studies before the rest of the Nome wakes up."

"Can't I sleep in a little?" I complained a little.

This earned an amused laugh from my uncle, "No, and when did you suddenly adjust to the sleeping patterns of a normal teenager?"

"Got used to not having to travel twenty-four seven," I explained as I struggled to sit up.

Amos' eyebrows rose a little in response. "So you think that means you can be lazy in the morning? Looks like I will have to change that."

"What's the rush anyways?" I finally managed to ask.

"I already said, I want you to continue your studies before the entire Nome wakes up," he reminded.

"Why?" I continued further.

His expression hardened, "I'm not the only leading figure here, Carter. You have to catch up to what I know, and what I know isn't something the rest of the Per Ankh wants to know."

"Oh, so it's going to be one of those days," I grumbled at the thought.

"Armageddon study, yes," Amos confirmed immediately, "and then we can have breakfast outside the Nome if you want. Then start 'examining' the building like we promised."

"Breakfast outside the Nome?" I gave him a confused look.

"Yes, so we can both avoid Kyra's rants on our family. Unless you are just _dying_ to hear her many complaints against Julius and I," Amos explained.

"I think skipping would be best," I decided immediately and stood up to stretch.

"Glad to hear it, I'll meet you in the library," he announced before leaving.

I quickly got changed and quietly left the room. Slowly making my way down the stairs, I heard rumbling going off from the Great Room. "So you already put the pieces together, did you?" A woman's voice growled. "I can't afford having someone like you running around with that information."

My eyes widened as I rushed down the stairs now, not caring if someone could hear me. I approached the Great Room when I froze to the sight. The floorboards were now a layer of the mud similar to what we saw eat up the First Nome, and Amos was struggling chin deep in it. Even worse happened to be a womanly figure standing a foot away from my uncle, peering back at me.

"Carter Kane, I hear you host a God as well," her voice directed towards me from the figure, "so which is it?"

"Carter, run-" Amos was interrupted quickly by being pulled further into the layer of mud, drowning in the gross solution that now made the floor of the Great Room.

My eyes widened as she laughed towards his situation. "You should train your Chief Lector in how to keep silent in the presence of his Pharaoh," she advised, making my heart race.

_Run,_ Horus spoke up as I pulled Ra's weapons out of my locker, _you can't win this fight, she has the advantage._

_We'll win, just help me,_ I started as I readied to form my avatar.

"Oh, you wish to fight me?" Gaia teased. "Must all of you learn the hard way? You _cannot_ defeat Mother Earth."

"Sorry, but Geb is Father Earth," I snarled as Horus and I became one.


	48. Chapter 48

-Kyra Teal-

A small earthquake woke me up immediately. My heart raced as I grabbed my robe and rushed downstairs. "Release him!" I could vividly hear Carter yell out.

If there is anything I've learned being a magician in the Per Ankh, it's knowing when to panic when the Chief Lector and or Pharaoh do as well. I perched myself on the stairs to take in a familiar mud seeping through the floorboards with each second. A sudden explosion sounded from the Great Room. I decided to continue forward by jumping to the small table in the lobby and placed a spell to move it towards the entrance.

"Struggling with the inevitable will make your suffering worse, Kane!" A woman's voice snarled.

The way she spoke his name instantly placed her as the voice that scared the hell out of Amos and I in Rome. I peered in to see Carter in his glowing avatar flying around the room, avoiding the mud being flung at him from the floor and going for a strike at a figure above the floor. It rose it's right hand in response and wrapped it's hand around Carter's neck, strangling the avatar to nothing in seconds.

"You Gods are pathetic beings," she snarled as she tossed him to the floor, letting the mud pull him in.

I notched my arrow and aimed for her head, taking a deep breath before releasing. It struck my target, earning a glare from the woman-like figure. Then in seconds, the mud pulled the arrow into her head as she laughed. "Is that the best you can do?" She mocked, as I stood paralyzed.

"Evacuate!" Carter screamed before the mud pulled him completely under.

"Oh yes, please do." Gaia grinned towards me, "I'll be taking this Nome down as well. Go tell the others of my great power, the threat Romans and Greeks are."

A bright blue hieroglyph for clay appeared above the figure, which obviously responded by solidifying, the floor returning to normal. I turned to find Zia and Alyssa filled with fear to the sight they just witnessed. "You heard her, let's wake everyone else up and get out," I instructed instantly, taking in that I had no one to turn to other than myself to lead them.


	49. Chapter 49

-Jason Grace-

"So, it appears we are at a standstill," I admitted from the silence. "We don't even know what she has planned other than destroying the Gods and trying to get us to fight amongst ourselves."

"Go giant hunting," Frank offered quickly, "that will stop her plans nicely."

"And how do you plan we go about tracking them?" Nico judged. "They only show themselves to attract us if you haven't noticed."

Julian, one of the magicians, sat up suddenly, "Thoth."

"Uh, okay?" Piper answered as Walt and Sadie both grumbled.

"Unfortunately, we probably should pay him a visit," Sadie hated the idea herself.

"Where would this Thoth be? And _what_ is he?" Hazel asked.

"Thoth is the God of knowledge," Walt answered quickly, "the founder of the House of Life. He might have a clue as to what we should do in our predicament."

"Wait, a _God_ founded magicians?" Annabeth absorbed the information quickly.

"Yes, and guided us on numerous occasions." Sadie confirmed. "He'll know more than Amos, and Amos has bigger problems to focus on. So, who wants to go to Memphis with me?"


	50. Chapter 50

-Carter Kane-

I pried my eyes open to find myself tied up to a clay-like pillar fifteen feet above what looks like more mud. What's worse? I'm tied to the pillar with more mud. Does it ever end? Not in the world of the Kanes. "Amos!" I yelled out, the walls of the cave echoed in reply.

"Sorry darling, your uncle is a bit preoccupied at the moment." The mud figure's voice emanated from the cave.

"What do you want?" I snapped, struggling against my bonds that replied by tightening.

An amused laugh shook some of the rocks from the celling to the mud below. "I want to erase my mistakes. I want my family to live in peace, for the inhabitants upon me to recognize me for who I am to bring life. Something you wouldn't understand, Carter. You'll never become a disappointed parent, or endure anything close to what I've been through."

Perhaps I should have been beside Amos last night to study up, for I didn't have a clue as to what she was talking about. "You're a disappointed mother, that's the reason why you've been hunting us down?"

"Look at you, you _are_ smart." She encouraged. "It's too bad you are a sacrificial lamb, little Pharaoh, I would rather keep you as one of the few children I still love. Nevertheless, my dear brother needs to awaken. And it requires all three worlds to witness your demise. Therefore, you'll wait until the time arises. That's okay though, I have time to spare for your meddling Chief Lector."

"Where's Amos?" I demanded.

"Why, he's here." She replied matter-of-factly. "I just ensured he can't speak again, but he can hear your many pleas all the same."


	51. Chapter 51

-Sadie Kane-

Percy, Annabeth, Walt, Julian, Jaz, and I walked into a small restaurant on the outskirts of Memphis to order lunch for all fifteen of us. I was about to start listing everything off when someone snapped their fingers. Within seconds, the cashier stared blankly at me and then walked off, earning my outrage to such rude customer service.

"Yell all you want, they don't see you." A familiar voice started from behind us.

I immediately turned to spot him wave towards me at the table nearby. "What the hell do you want?" I snapped at the sight of the all so familiar red god.

"Well now, that's fairly rude." He grinned. "Should I tell Amos to hand you a lecture on manners?"

"Okay, a weirder version of Ares, I presume?" Percy started.

Set faced the water boy and chuckled. "I'm the _original_, and the name is Set."

"Explains why you look like the Chief Lector." Annabeth concluded.

To her words, I took in that he was an _exact_ mimic of my uncle despite the red hued skin. "What are you doing here?" I demanded.

Set gestured us to join him at the table, which everyone but me obliged. "Why else would I harass you?"

"Amos sent you for another message?" I recalled when he did to clarify their situation half a year ago.

"Not exactly," Set gritted his teeth suddenly. "I've lost contact with him."

"Uh, how?" Walt continued.

"I'm not the smartest God around, Stone." Set snapped. "I'm not sure how I'm being blocked from my host. However, Horus is in the same situation."

"Maybe Amos found a spell to keep you out finally?' I offered.

Set removed the red tinted sunglasses and glared at me for a second. "Yesterday morning, the Forty-sixth Nome was evacuated by the Pharaoh's orders. Then Horus couldn't reach Carter immediately after. What do I know on the situation myself? Amos got a hold of an important piece of information on Gaia. He _planned_ to tell Carter that morning. However, she got to him first."

"Carter?" Julian asked.

"Both, did I not specify that earlier?" Set growled.

My eyes widened to the news. "Was it her?" I managed to ask.

"Oh yes, caught Amos by surprise." Set admitted dryly. "And the foolish Carter thought he could take on Gaia alone. That boy has no idea what he is up against."

Erie silence for ten seconds. "Do you recall anything Amos was reading up on that night?" I asked now. "Even the title of the book will be fine."

"Well, he had a number of books he was skimming through; ten if I remember right. But the names of them escape me, I'm not a bookworm like you're dear uncle. I'm only in it to kill, remember?"

"Yeah, I think we all know." Percy complained. "You know, you've done something like this to Annabeth and I before."

Set's eyebrows rose out of confusion. "You're meaning that despicable version _of_ me you dirty Greeks made. He isn't too bad, but let me correct something for you. _Horus_ is not my father; I'm his uncle/brother."

"Zeus?" Annabeth asked for confirmation.

"Oh yes, though I will agree you got his arrogance down _very_ well." Set nodded in response. "Back to the matter of the Kane family. The only thing I managed to catch was a sentence in Thoth's book. 'That fool of a scribe mistranslated our nature'. And trust me, I agree with Thoth on that one."

"You don't remember what the name of that book was?" Walt pleaded for him to remember something important.

"No, but Amos was looking into Egyptian and Greek relations if that is of any aid." Set confirmed with another nod. "Came upon something, I don't recall what, but he wrapped up his studying once he came upon it. And that's when little Sadie failed miserably at stalking her uncle up the stairs. That's it."

I fumed to his grin aimed at me. "Come to think of it, I believe Amos was going to ask you something, but quickly decided against it thanks to that wench listening on us." Set added.

"Should have told him to say it anyways." I growled.

"Well, Amos happens to have a fraction of Thoth's wisdom, that's something you shouldn't cross." Set advised. "Speaking of, you are here to pay him a visit, are you not?"

"Were planning on it, yeah." Walt replied.

Set thought for a second. "Perhaps I should get Horus here as well, discuss our situation with him."

"We done here?" Percy snapped. "We kind of have a list of things to do as well."

Set grinned. "Not quite, Jackson. For being so generous, I'll pay for your lunch."

I gave him a confused look as he handed Walt a hundred dollar bill. "Whoa, what is wrong with you?" I scolded.

Set gave me a blank look. "Well Kane, would you prefer to starve instead? You'll be aiding me in finding my host again so I don't have to talk to my horrible nephew any longer than necessary. Plus I _really_ do hate having to push myself back out of the Duat for these little trips simply because my connection with my host is temporarily severed."

Jaz smirked at the thought. "You are a real softy, Set." She teased.

He waved her words off. "Don't count on it. I'll see you around." He promised towards me before snapping his fingers.

He immediately disappeared, leaving us at the table with surprised expressions drawn thanks to Set's rare generosity. "Let's get the hell out of here before he decides to show his ugly face again." I urged.


	52. Chapter 52

-Carter Kane-

The passage of time is completely lost when you are stuck in an air bubble in Earth's crust. The cave shook to wake me up again, tiredly taking in a weird serpent/human walking his many feet through the mud with incredible ease. "Ah, Polarus, my son." The voice rang with sure joy. "I present you a gift."

The mud bubbled before him before releasing something that appeared as a speck of dirt in the mud, hoarse coughing followed by gasps for air. "As the bane of Ares, I give you his host. As said before, everything that is Ares is yours. Do as you wish with him, just as Ares. I trust that you lure the ship to you and I will hand you Zeus' host as well."

This really was starting to give me a headache as Polarus pinched the speck of dirt out of the mud and observed it in his left hand. "He is so weak, why would Ares choose you?"

More savage coughing, and I noticed a hint of red on the speck in the giant's hand, my heart racing to the idea. "Don't underestimate, Polarus, he may be a fragile human, but he is too smart for his own good. That is why he is a gift to you; make sure he can't speak another word." Gaia instructed. "So, do we have a deal?"

Polarus peered up at me, making me panic as I took in the hungry look in his eyes. "Yes, I love starting wars."

"I know you do, that's why you are the perfect son to do the job." Gaia praised.

"It won't work!" I announced in a proud way, Horus would give me a pat on the back for acting so arrogant-like. "We've made a truce with them, you lose already."

"A truce is a weak form of diplomacy." Gaia informed. "You will need something stronger than that to ensure it stays permanent. And the Per Ankh is weak; all it takes is to behead it to strike panic."

Amos was still coughing, probably struggling to clear his lungs of the mud. "Who is Ares?" I finally asked. "And Zeus? Amos and I have _nothing_ to do with them, I swear-"

"Oh really, I thought you would know by now." Gaia chuckled. "Your Gods are the originals, the Greeks built off of them and the Romans built off of the Greeks. You are Horus' host, who is Zeus and Jupiter as well."

"Ookay, but that doesn't mean that this Ares guy is going to care about what you do to us-" I started.

"You're right, Ares doesn't care." Gaia agreed. "But I don't want Ares; I want the troublemaking demigods and the magicians that joined recently. A war between all three to release Apophis, and a sacrifice to release me as well. And you will help us achieve it, little Pharaoh."


	53. Chapter 53

-Jason Grace-

"Wow, where's the party?" A weird scientist guy approached us in the stands of the stadium.

"Right here." Sadie Kane spoke matter-of-factly. "Guys, meet Thoth, the Egyptian God of wisdom."

"Oh, so it's time for you to suck up is it?" Thoth peered at her. "Or do you want something _again_?"

"We have a list of questions to ask you." Walt continued. "Has Set or Horus talked with you yet?"

Thoth sighed irritably. "Yes, both are in the concession stand. And I don't truly know where the problem lies other than Gaia is obviously blocking them from their hosts and they want to cry over it."

"Set and crying? I don't see that happening-" Sean started.

"Oh, he'll never show such a weakness, but he _is_ obviously upset." Thoth explained. "And the same goes to Horus. Anyways, Set isn't much help other than to raise concern for my star pupil with what he described of the incident. And Horus is rambling off about Carter's ignorance towards wanting to fight Gaia despite being told otherwise."

"Star pupil? I assume you mean Amos?" Sadie asked with some interest.

"Ah yes, the little risk taker." Thoth grinned. "He would have even embraced my path if it wasn't for Set stealing him. However, I suppose it's for the best, Amos happens to show the better part of Set than usual." He muttered something in an odd dialect. "But you can't honestly be here because of it too. Especially you, Sadie. And with demigods of both Greek and Roman camps."

"Set mentioned Amos discovering something the night before Gaia took them." Sadie started immediately. "Whatever it is, it apparently is a valid threat against her to suddenly act so bold as to attack another Nome."

"So Set says, but you can't honestly trust everything that leaves his big-" Thoth started.

"Amos was certain that night that she wouldn't attack with a large number of magician witnesses around, and then look what happens?" Sadie snapped.

Thoth sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, if you're expecting me to know what Amos found, I'm going to need more information on _what_ he was looking up and what books."

"You're the God of Knowledge, shouldn't you just know?" Julian pointed out.

Thoth laughed in response. "Somehow Carter and Sadie came across the spell they used to execrate Apophis without much of my help. And I don't teach my pupils everything, I just teach them how to skim through books and spot codes in the middle of my rambling paragraphs. And as I said, Amos Kane was my star pupil. As you should already know Sadie, I don't hand out knowledge for free; you have to work to get it."

Sadie crossed her arms in an irritated fashion. "What do you want us to do?" I asked now.

"Easy now, Mr. Lightening." Thoth started. "You said you have a _list_ of things to ask, so what else is there?"

"Yeah, how do we go about finding the Pharaoh and Chief Lector?" Frank continued.

Thoth's eyes narrowed. "If I knew, I think Horus and Set would already be gone by now. However, they are still lingering, so I don't obviously know."

"Set mentioned that you guys are the original Gods amongst the three." Percy started. "Who is Hera/Juno?"

Thoth grinned at the thought. "I can't hand that kind of information out. That is something only that deity can give if they so choose to."

"Would you have a scrying bowl by any chance?" Sadie asked now. "We need to talk to someone from the Seattle House."

"Sorry, I don't have one." Thoth admitted dryly. "However, if you are talking about Kyra Teal and her small group, they passed by here not too long ago. Something about a possible threat to Brooklyn. In addition, surprisingly, the Forty-sixth Nome survived Gaia's attack. It's in bad shape, but if you're careful I'm sure you can look for anything in there."

"It survived?" Felix wondered.

"Yes, and Alyssa is who to thank for that." Thoth continued. "She'll turn out to be a Geb legacy soon at this rate."

"Who was in the group with Kyra?" Sadie demanded.

"Alyssa, Zia, and Janet." He listed easily.

"And they didn't mention anything about Carter and Amos?" Walt asked.

"They did, but they didn't know anything other than distress and deep concern on their situation. But Kyra is a good leader; she'll keep the Per Ankh level for now." Thoth informed. "And now that we've mentioned it, I'll get to what I want you to do."

"Oh boy." Piper complained instantly.

"You need to hunt down whatever Amos was reading, and it should be still in the Nome's library. When you return, I will look into figuring out what he found. Fair deal I think." Thoth continued. "And maybe talk with Set to get more information on what he was reading."

"He said something about Greek and Egyptian relations." Annabeth recalled. "Ring any bells?"

Thoth sighed out of his own distress. "Not at the moment. So you'll have to find them before I can be of any help."

"You know, it's pathetic that a human knows more than a God of Knowledge." Hazel added.

Thoth laughed it off easily. "I know many things, Pluto's spawn. But as to what would cause your Goddess of Earth so much distress is beyond me. Especially with Amos at the center of it."

Sadie sighed. "I guess Seattle it is."

"How do you know our parents?" Annabeth's curiosity got the better of her.

"Like I said, I know many things." He shrugged off. "I better go and attend to the God visitors. Till next time then."


	54. Chapter 54

-Walt Stone-

"Whoa, it's in _really_ bad shape." Sean pointed out as we approached the crumbling building that the portal led us to.

"This is it." Sadie confirmed. "I remember the sea-side view."

"When where you here?" I wondered now.

She gave me a nervous laugh. "Ba trip, paid Amos a visit." She summed up. "Otherwise I've never been here until now."

"So, no one decided to fix it up? Just left it like this?" Julian took in the building.

"Carter ordered an evacuation. The Per Ankh is not about to enter without his approval, and he is currently missing." Sadie explained. "However, being his sister, we're breaking that rule."

"I thought that's what we came here for in the first place." I reminded.

She grinned in reaction. "No, I'm also planning of fixing it up. Then we can see about contacting Kyra."

"Hold on," Jaz spoke up. "Thoth said Alyssa managed to stop Gaia from engulfing this Nome as well. Who is to say the foundation is stable enough to fix with magic?"

"It's worth a try, isn't it?" Sean supported against. "Do you not trust Alyssa's skill?"

"No, I trust her." Jaz explained. "But she didn't even stay to help fix it up either."

"Kyra probably wanted to head to New York as soon as possible." Sadie suggested. "And with Amos and Carter missing, Kyra is the next best thing to lead their small group."

"More than that, she's currently holding the House of Life together." I reminded. "I'm surprised she hadn't called you Sadie."

"I know." Sadie nodded and faced the Nome again. "I never thought I would have to use this spell." She muttered under her breath as she pointed her wand at the ruins. "Hi-nehm"

In response, the walls crumbled to the ground, the wood moaning before snapping and joining the rest of the rubble. "Uh, you use the right spell?" Sean asked.

Sadie stood frozen to the building finally collapsing. "It was supposed to fix itself!" She explained angrily.

"So Jaz was right." Felix finalized for everyone.

"How are we to get the books then?" Julian demanded out of frustration.

Sadie took a second to relax before approaching the remains of the Nome. I shrugged to my fellow magicians and followed closely behind her. "Do you know what floor the library was on?" I asked her.

She paused to curse. "The first floor."

"Yeah, we're screwed." Julian concluded.

"Hold on guys," I continued. "You have another spell that might work." I reminded Sadie.

She sighed at the thought. "It might make Seattle a crater if I do that." She complained. "Look, that spell did the _complete_ opposite of what it means!"

"I think it's worth a try at least." I continued. "If it doesn't work, we'll just get the same results as this."

Sadie's eyes narrowed in response. "I might kill all of you, and I'm _not_ about to put more blood on my hands, got it?"

"Wait, I thought you were fine with using it the other two times." Jaz recalled.

Sadie sighed, crossing her arms. "Amos mentioned something about the Gods fighting amongst themselves when contact with the Greeks happened last. The reason they were able to trample over us too."

"So, the Gods are out of whack?" Sean questioned further.

"Sades," I comforted, "you can do this. Put a little more faith in yourself."

She closed her eyes and nodded before opening. "Okay, I'll try."

Precautionary for us to stand before the Nome as Sadie stood on what looked like part of the roof, closing her eyes. A minute of this, her staff started to glow a golden aura as she lifted it from the roof. "Ma'at!" She immediately slammed her staff to the shingles she was standing on.

Within that minute, we watched as the Nome rebuilt itself, Sadie on the roof of the five-story building. "Sades, meet you in the library!" I yelled out, which she nodded and entered the house before we did.


	55. Chapter 55

-Kyra Teal-

"Where is Amos?" Vika demanded as she entered the veranda.

Thankfully, it was just Vika and I, everyone else was training. "He is traveling with Carter-" I started.

"Lies, you dare to lie to a Menshikov?" She snarled. "And why are you in charge? If I heard right, Sadie Kane should be leading _before_ you."

"She is preoccupied, so _I'm_ in charge. And before you even start, Amos and Carter are still alive." I stood my ground. "Try anything and you declare war on the Per Ankh."

She smirked in reaction. "You assume so much, Kyra. What would I do?"

My eyes narrowed. "Your brother tried to overtake the Per Ankh, _you_ should be lucky that Amos has refused to speak of it."

Vika blew cigar smoke in my face, which I faced away to such a rude action. "Why should I take blame for my brother's stupidity? I'm just the baby sis; I cannot change what my brothers think just as much as he couldn't change Julius."

"Shut up." I snarled. "The Kanes are in _no_ way related to the Menshikovs."

She exhaled smoke as she chuckled in response. "You in denial, Lady Teal?"

I glared at her for a few seconds. "I have other concerns right now other than what you have up your sleeve, Vika. But if you _try_ anything against the Kanes, I'll make sure we meet again."

She bit down on the cigar as she grinned. "Silly Americans, you always think Russians are out to get you. Why can't we just embrace in friendly talk?"

I exhaled angrily in reaction. "Because you are like Vladimir, power hungry to the core. And who starts 'friendly talk' with an obvious threat towards my family?"

"I never threatened; I just pointed out the errors in your ways." Vika continued. "And I like this Amos; he's smart, but not very strong like we are."

My eyebrows knitted, ready to pull my bow out at any moment. "You disregard his hosting of Set?"

"He might as well jump off cliff." She immediately confirmed. "Set was never meant to sit on the throne-"

"He _isn't_ on the throne, he's Chief Lector." I angrily reminded. "And that doesn't mean that Amos can't beat your ass to the ground."

Another amused chuckle. "He needed children to aid him against Jacobi."

"That's because only two Nomes stood by him during it." I snapped. "And if I heard the rumors right, _you_ even provided your Nome to the rebel magicians. And how dare you disregard the children of Brooklyn? They are equals to us, have gotten farther than we ever did in our studies for such a short amount of time."

"I was forced to hand the Nome over, thank you." She snarled. "And they killed my fellow magicians for siding with the Gods or your family. It's not like I could stand against them when they have a chokehold on my men."

"Yes you could have." I started. "And you would have received our aid in that fight. But, you didn't even try."

"The Eighteenth Nome relying on Kane?" She raised her right eyebrow out of interest. "Did you not see how well he did on protecting the neutral Nomes? They fell like leaves from a tree."

"The situation would have been better if he received more help." I stood by my words. "Now, was there a purpose, other than harassing me, for your visit?"

"Yes, don't be stupid and follow them to your death, Teal. I actually like you; it would be a shame to get the leopard cape because of Amos' arrogance." She finalized.

"I agree, it would be awful." I scorned as she waved goodbye, leaving me to vent on the veranda.

**Vika is an OC. I know, sterotypical Russian, but Vika plays an important role as well so hang with me!**

**Thanks for the reviews it helps post even more chapters!**

**5,000 views? *bows* thank you, I am honored. I honestly didn't think this would get much attention.**

**This fanfic has been prewritten for a few months, so I have even more chapters ready to post up here, just a matter of me going through and editing to make sure it goes a little smoother.**


	56. Chapter 56

-Sadie Kane-

"Holy Horus," Julian managed to say when we got in the library.

Of course, the library here is about the same size as the one in Brooklyn. "Okay, let's find ourselves a shabti," I started quickly leading them in.

"That's easy, there's one on the second level," Walt pointed out towards the balcony circling the perimeter of the room.

Therefore, we followed Walt up the stairs as he observed the retrieving shabti for a few seconds. "All books concerning Egyptian and Greek relations," Walt demanded.

It hesitated, but moved to face Walt in reaction. "Password?" He growled.

"Password?" I judged critically. "Why the bloody hell do we need to give you a password?"

"Direct orders of Amos Kane, Chief Lector of the Per Ankh," it answered easily. "Top secret information. If you don't know the password, you are a valid threat to the Per Ankh."

I gave it a weird look now. "I'm Sadie Kane, Amos' niece," I started dryly, "so that means I can peek in without a password."

He pulled his sword out. "Hold on dude!" Sean reacted fearfully. "Why is there a password on these books?"

"Fool, they were transferred here by Kane himself," it growled, not making much sense.

"Look," I snarled, "Amos is missing, and the only way we can help is if we can take the books that he was reading."

"_Take_ the books?" It stood up from its kneeling position on the pedestal.

"Okay, looks like we're fighting it," Walt finalized as everyone took a step back.

"Halt!" A familiar voice echoed in the library, freezing everyone in response.

"Do as they say shabti," Alyssa instructed as she took the stairs to join us.

He sheathed his sword and opened a portal that he walked through. "Alyssa? I thought you were with Kyra," I recalled.

She grinned towards us, "I got a message from Geb himself, saying I needed to come back and help some friends."

"Well, thank you," Julian spoke with relief. "Don't have to fight a password-ridden shabti."

"Why would  
Amos put a password on it? It's bloody ridiculous!" I snapped.

"It said if you didn't know it, you're a threat," Jaz reminded. "Obviously, Amos is being protective of it. And with them being gone, Gaia must be protecting something as well."

The shabti came back with ten books stacked on its right hand as it lowered it towards Alyssa, who gratefully took them and observed the titles. "These look exactly like what he was reading."

"I will return to Kane's locker when you are finished," the shabti added before going back into its clay form.

"Wait, these weren't in the library?" Walt questioned.

The shabti didn't respond, just kept being it's clay-like self. "Uh, _how_ can a retrieval shabti get into someone's locker?" I wondered.

"I think that is the least of our concerns," Sean started. "There's loose papers tucked in the books."

Alyssa nodded in reply, "Those weren't in there when I saw them."

"Oh good, let's play follow the leader then." I gestured them go downstairs, "We got the books, let's pay Thoth another visit."


	57. Chapter 57

-Annabeth Chase-

While Sadie and her band of magicians went to excavate the Seattle Nome, we had the 'opportunity of a life time' to see Horus and Set fight. Peanuts and hamburger patties exploded out of one stand in reaction to the red god's words, the warrior god dodging it all with his sword. "Come now, uncle, you can do better than that!" Horus screamed.

"You irritating brat! How they chose you over me is beyond _anyone's_ imagination!" Set snarled as he gestured to a fire extinguisher that instantly exploded, the room now covered in the white foam.

"Ugh, this is why I hate God visitors," Thoth complained. "You always choose to make a mess in my residences!"

"Then do something about it," Percy suggested.

"That would be nice; however I've always been the mediator, the God to balance Order and Chaos. I never choose a side, so I never have friends. But my fellow Gods are more than willing to spill their problems on my shoulders whenever they get sick of it," Thoth scoffed. "But that's what happens when you're the only one bearing a white flag."

Horus, in outrage to being covered in foam and peanuts, started to go from close strikes with his weirdly curved sword. Set responded by forming a dust devil to preoccupy the other God. "You and your magic, coward!" Horus squawked as he slashed his sword through the small funnel to destroy it.

"That's enough!" I snapped as Set opened his big mouth to retaliate. "Why the hell are you two here anyways?"

"They're bored because their hosts are out of reach," Thoth answered easily. "So they fight each other."

Set relaxed his jaw a second as he faced me. "I'm the only link you guys have as to what the hell the Chief Lector came upon," he reminded strictly. "But my nephew has decided to challenge me once more."

"Liar; and you wonder why they turned against you?" Horus snapped.

"Seriously you two, shut up," Piper supported. "You didn't even care that you have been fighting in another God's home. So be at least courteous enough to stop now."

"Well, you have quite a mouth," Set muttered towards her. "Charm speak?"

She stood in alarm. "H-How do you know of it?"

Set rolled his eyes, "It's similar to the Pharaoh and Chief Lector voice. Everyone listens not because it is the highest authority, but also because they cannot disobey. However, you're little tongue is nothing comparable."

"That's for sure," Horus huffed. "All you can do is try to persuade. _We_ demand and get results no matter what."

"Man, that's the most arrogant thing I've heard come flying out of a God's mouth," Jason confirmed for the rest of us.

"Watch it, Roman," Horus' glare landed on the son of Jupiter. "Your father won't protect you from me."

"I don't need him to keep my ground," Jason snarled in reply.

"Knock it off," I scolded, "we don't need more arrogant fights right now. Remember, we are working on peace here, not another war."


	58. Chapter 58

-Amos Kane-

Who knows how long we have been here. The sight of Ra is valuable and only sitting in darkness makes you aware of that. Sadly, I have grown used to such darkness that fear for myself is completely washed away. With Set, I discovered that I am mentally strong, far more than I realized. It dawned on me more with hearing Carter's pleas of confusion and absolute terror from several feet above.

The giant growled out of frustration as he peered up at Carter from his seat of rock, similar to what Mimas had in his cave. "It's a wonder that I haven't killed that headache yet!" Polarus admitted, making sure his voice carried through to Carter as well. "Can't we silence him as well?"

"No, his cries are worth nothing," Gaia's voice replied. "Have you been accommodating you gift well?"

Gift, that is all I am to him. He has yet to place any harm on me himself, but rather keep me alive and silent. What can I do other than play prisoner? I refused everything he gave me; food and water, something they have been depriving Carter of. Yet he forced it down my throat, keeping me from any sort of death. Even if I do die here, will Anubis be able to get in and escort me to the Hall of Judgment? Didn't matter much in my opinion, I just want to be free of the mute placed upon me, even if it means I'm a trapped ghost.

"Yes, he is in good condition." Polarus confirmed to his mother.

"Good," she easily approved. "And I see the Pharaoh has run himself exhausted with his constant yelling."

I hesitated to peer up, something I told myself not to do. And it did as I expected, tearing at me from the inside as Carter stayed limp-like thirty feet above us. A surge of hate bubbled in my throat, but the mud pressed against my vocal chords stopped it from escaping. _Alright Carter, I'll fight through this for you._


	59. Chapter 59

-Sadie Kane-

"Well done!" Thoth encouraged. "And I see Alyssa joined you as well."

Alyssa smiled in recognition. "She helped us get past the retrieval shabti," I explained.

Thoth gave me a weird look, "What, did you let the worst of Isis rub on you?"

Walt nervously laughed in reaction, "Uh, actually it said something along the lines of a password and Amos' locker."

Thoth studied his expression for a second. "Interesting, never heard of such a concept. He must have been certain you would come upon it. Leading us to what he knows even."

"You know what it was about and weren't there?" I wondered.

"Well yes, it's exactly how the shabti said," Thoth shrugged. "Amos set it up so it could enter his locker. That shabti probably doesn't even belong _to_ the library. But who knows, all we know for certain is he made a trail for us to follow, and we should catch up to where he is if that's the case." He gestured us to a room in the back, which we all poured into, "Set those books on the desk."

Alyssa did so and we watched him observe the books. "Well, looks like he's been studying more on my book than the rest," he started when he sat down finally.

"Why, you're the most irritating God-" I started.

He grinned in reply, "Because I'm the God of Wisdom, thank you. Besides, I tell the truth, unlike most authors that bullshit their way through the information. That is another thing to pick up on, telling the lies from the truth. It's difficult in writing, however, because you can only rely on the printed words rather than expressions and gestures when speaking."

"Just get to following the clues," I snapped. "I am more worried about my family rather than your ego."

He cleared his throat and opened to the first loose paper in his book, _The Misread_. "Well, been awhile since I've read his coding," he admitted as he studied it.

I looked over his right shoulder to take in the paper in his hands. It was a mix of hieroglyphs, well printed English, and some other language; changing it up every two words. Trying to read it easily gave anyone a headache, which I assume was the goal. "How are you supposed to translate all of this?" I complained to my headache from the first transition to English from Egyptian.

"It's quite easy; he's forcing you to go through it three times," Thoth explained. "First Egyptian, English, and then French. Any patient person can get through it. However, it's common knowledge that a majority of magicians are _not_ patient." He handed me the paper he finished writing on and went to another loose page to start translating it himself.

"Wait, did you seriously just-" I stood in alarm.

"Like I said, it's easy," he continued with the second.

I peered at the paper in front of me to see it completely translated in hieroglyphs. "Hey, how about _English_?" I suggested.

"What? You are the host of Isis. Get some practice in while you are at it. I'm _not_ about to switch it to English for you, takes _too_ much time." He continued drawing the funny pictures, almost finished with the second page.

I sighed and focused on the page, Isis' voice helping with some of the more difficult words.

Cleopatra, host of Isis, powerful magician and Pharaoh of the Per Ankh. Greek contact not taken well, considered weak for woman on throne. Disregarded Chief Lector's advice for war, attempted peace with misguided people of Greece. Chaos stirring. Gave life force to flood Alexandria. Amulet still in San Francisco?

I read it again to make sure I understood it. "Host of Isis hu? Got something in common. But why would he be interested in her?" I asked Thoth as he handed me the second page.

"Patience, Sadie Kane. Or else you'll never get through this," Thoth grumbled. "I know that's something Isis lacks, but you can't keep running around like a rabid teenager that demands everything to be written in English and be completely understandable."

Dear Jazzy Hippo…

"Uh, what?" I raised my right eyebrow towards Thoth now.

"Hum?" He asked, halfway done with the third.

"_Jazzy Hippo_?" I pointed to it for him.

"Oh, probably a nickname," Thoth shrugged off. "As you can see, it's a message, not notes."

"Uh, why is there someone with a name like that?" Jaz puzzled.

"Hey, Amos is a jazz tenor. Maybe there was another musician that just went by that name?" Julian suggested.

"It sounds like an insult," I scorned and returned to the paper.

Dear Jazzy Hippo,

Sorry about the complex way of asking you such questions. Sorry I have not looked into seeing you since Julius became Osiris. Need your help again, if you will allow it.

First of which is on Cleopatra. The books never speak of why she resorted to such suicide. Do you know? I'm certain it has a connection with the tension between Egypt and Rome, but she very well could have made peace.

How much do you know on Greece? I've been studying to a pounding headache and can't catch the link between Apophis and Gaia, only Gaia and Geb which is obvious. Is it Chaos perhaps? Not even the Greeks are certain if it's her brother or father. If so, do you think a threat of this Goddess could have been the reasoning for Cleopatra's actions in Alexandria?

I'm sure you've heard of Sadie and Carter by now. Probably everything there is to know thanks to Ruby. Do you think Sadie has a chance? I don't want to let another die over something that brings only ruin upon the rest of us, it's too much of a heartache to think about.

I'm not sure if you remember much of the threat leading to your death, seeing as I know how much one can black out during possession now. I can't help but wonder if it went beyond his escape, if we were meant to go against a much stronger force than Chaos itself.

Also, this is hard for me to continue writing to you like you'll reply, but I miss you. I think of your eyes, your smile, the way you curled that strand of hair around your index whenever we studied (and yes, don't think I never saw that). That day haunts me still; I remember it like it only happened yesterday. I'm sorry, I know you'll slap me for it and say otherwise, but you know I could have made it turn out differently. And I can't help but think of what our life would have been, if I could be the man that protects you from everything that threatened us (without Julius or Michel).

I'm going to stop there, don't want to ruin this letter with tears. I do hope you get a chance to read this, and I swear I will plan to visit you soon (once the Per Ankh can settle down for a few minutes). If you don't, then I'll just see you after the trail.

Sincerely,

Morning Dew

"You sure Amos wrote this?" I asked.

"Yep, same coding," Thoth explained, piling ten papers for me to go through.

"I don't think Amos is a 'Morning Dew' kind of person," I explained.

"Morning Dew?" Sean judged.

"Can I read it?" Jaz asked.

"Go ahead," I handed it to her, Walt looking over her shoulder.

"It's a love note," Walt confirmed.

"What makes you say that?" I questioned.

"It's obvious, really," Jaz supported as she handed it back to me. "He mentions things he admires about her, and then wonders if he could have been the one fit enough to protect her. Obvious flirting in my opinion."

"He also asked a list of questions, ones he didn't know much on so he went to ask a ghost about it," Walt continued. "Thoth, you can stop translating. We're going to pay a 'Jazzy Hippo' a visit."


	60. Chapter 60

-Walt Stone-

We entered the Hall of Judgment to see it practically empty with the exception of Julius Kane and Anubis. "Well, what brings the two of you here?" Julius started with a large grin.

"Hey, we need to talk to a ghost," Sadie started.

Julius' expression hardened. "Uh, I'm _not_ letting another one wander about because it tricked you like Setne-" He started.

"No, just talk," I explained. "Do you know anyone by the name of Jazzy Hippo?"

His expression softened and he snapped his fingers, "Hey, Jazzy Hippo, you have visitors!" He announced.

A few seconds and Sadie was about to sound dumb when a female ghost showed up before us. "I hate it when you use that nickname, Julius," she scorned before grinning towards us. "_You_ must be Sadie Kane, your mother's told me so much about you!"

"Uh, hi," Sadie took her in for a second. "You really let people call you that?"

The ghost rolled her eyes, "It's awful, I know. But the Kane brothers are _not_ that creative when it comes towards names. But that's okay, Ruby and I gave them awful names too."

"Like Morning Dew?" I continued.

If a ghost could blush, she most certainly did. "Trust me, it was a fitting name. I assume he sent you two. When does he plan on visiting himself?"

"Uh, actually we have a letter he wrote to you," Sadie gave her the note.

She read through it, mixed emotions when she took a second to skim it over again. "It sounds like he intended to give me this himself," she started. "Where did you find this?"

Sadie and I exchanged looks, which Sadie sighed and faced 'Jazzy Hippo'. "We are in another crisis. So far, Amos and Carter are missing."

"What?" Julius alarmed. "How? They're the Pharaoh and Chief Lector; eyes are on them nearly twenty-four seven-"

"Not sure," Sadie continued. "Anyways, we believe Amos came upon something that this Gaia Goddess is trying to keep hidden. We may have come upon a trail of crumbs, in other words. That's why we're here; maybe you can help us figure it out."

The ghost looked absolutely terrified towards Sadie's words. "Um, may I ask you for your _real_ name? Just so we're not calling you that awful nickname," I hesitated.

She sighed and faced me. "Caroline Smith, former healer of the Twenty-first Nome," she introduced.

Sadie's eyes lit up suddenly, "Wait, I've heard your name before!"

"Not surprised," Julius started. "Amos was a complete puppy around her, and I bet he still will be."

"Were you two dating?" Sadie asked.

Caroline blushed again, "We didn't have the chance, but he planned to ask. That's enough for me, even this note. Though I feel he may be thinking of me too much if it's causing so much distress." She sighed. "Anyways, I suppose I better get to answering those questions."

"Cleopatra told me herself the reason behind her flooding Alexandria. Moreover, you can tell Amos that it _wasn't_ a suicide mission. It was her stopping a threat of some sort from destroying Egypt. And from Amos' list of questions, it sounds like he thinks it was Gaia."

"Wait, you got to talk to Cleopatra?" Sadie asked.

Caroline grinned. "Yes, and what a grand honor it is," she continued. "Especially with her being my ancestor, I was _completely_ obsessed with her that everyone practically turned to me when it came to doomsday facts from that period. Which explains why Amos is asking me, of course. Next question, do I think the heroic Sadie Kane can survive it? That's a yes."

"Sorry, can you specify 'it'?" I continued.

"Honestly, I am not certain what it will do," Caroline explained. "Especially if it's against a Greek Goddess."

"That's helpful," Sadie muttered under her breath.

"But I know you will survive, Sadie, because even if it is a mess you have an entire Nome to protect you and care for you," she continued anyways.

"Walt," Anubis finally spoke up, "call upon me when it's dire, I will be sure to drop everything and help."

I nodded in response. "Uh, I know this is kind of weird," Sadie hesitated to start, "what do the nicknames mean?"

Caroline grinned now, "Morning Dew is what Ruby and I called Amos, Julius didn't really get into that kind of thing except when it came to mine. Anyways, morning dew is what you find at dawn, condensation falling from the air thanks to humidity. To us, it meant he signified hope. He may have been the bookworm and not at all as strong as his older brother, but he always had something up his sleeve that saved someone somehow, even if it meant him risking his own life to get it to happen. When it seemed nearly helpless, he was the one we turned to."

"Ruby's nickname was Wildflower, just because of her rebelling against her parents and being a magician despite what they thought. Otherwise, Ruby was usually a caring person, someone you could turn to if you need a shoulder to lean on."

"Julius' is Headstrong Crocodile, because he is stubborn and we made a deal with Amos," she continued. "He wanted to name his shabti after his brother. We told him it was a bad idea because he would probably get into fights with it as well. Plus it deserves a better name than that. So he named him Philip of Macedonia, and we promised to call Julius a crocodile in return."

"Wait, you're kidding me right?" Julius' eyes widened. "What a little brat-"

"That's actually hilarious," Sadie grinned.

"Plus, Julius has a big mouth, so it's a perfect fit," Caroline added, earning more outrage from Julius. "You want to take your anger out by explaining why you and Amos call me 'Jazzy Hippo'?"

Julius calmed down and cleared his throat, "When we met her in Cairo, Amos kind of started to stalk her."

"Creepy," Sadie added.

"And then he couldn't stop talking about her. Kept talking about her relaxed attitude towards her studying, it made him jealous apparently. Well, that's _not_ what I saw. She kept threatening me over the littlest things, like asking a question about a spell. He started relating her to jazz, which he will die if he never had it with how much he loves it, and I related her to a hippo. Therefore, we came to an agreement and called her the Jazzy Hippo. And to this day it fits; she's usually a relaxed woman unless you irritate her in the slightest."

"I only tolerate Amos using it," Caroline added with a big grin, "because it's filled with affection, rather than teasing."

"Despite how weird all of that is, you guys sounded pretty close," I pointed out.

Julius nodded, "The four of us were for the longest time _the_ Twenty-first Nome. No one else wanted to join, rumors of Amos and I getting into trouble kept a good portion away. With time, it dwindled to just one until Amos took up guardianship," he explained dryly.

A minute of silence. "Thank you, Caroline, for the help you've freely given us," Sadie curtsied a little, earning a small laugh from the ghost.

"Oh please, it's an honor to meet you rather than me," she started. "Before you go, I want you to promise you'll survive this for your family. The Kanes have been torn apart too much as it is, don't cause more damage." Her eyes saddened, "And tell him he has always been the one to protect me."


	61. Chapter 61

-Sadie Kane-

"We need to go to Thessaly," Jason started in a panicked manner once we all managed to sit down at Thoth's little table he set out for us.

"Yes we do," Percy grumbled to the thought.

"Why is that?" Alyssa asked.

Annabeth sighed out of distress, "The giants plan to attack Mount Olympus, and we're talking the _original_ Mount Olympus, not the Empire State Building."

"The what now?" Walt managed as we froze to the thought.

"Uh, suppose we should catch you up on our side," Frank started. "You see, our Gods are migrators. They go where belief is. Currently, the most belief is in New York, so the Empire State Building is the current 'Mount Olympus'."

"And we _didn't_ know about it this _whole_ time?" My eyes got rather large to the thought that such strange beings were _literally_ a Freak-travel away from Brooklyn House.

"Eh, it's not a big deal honestly," Percy shrugged off, earning a growl from Annabeth. "Anyways, what did you guys manage to pick up?"

I sighed and faced Walt, who nodded. "Not much, except it has something to do with the past."

"And who would let people call her a 'Jazzy Hippo'," I added, still feeling odd about it.

Annabeth perked up to Walt, but Percy and Jason gave me weird looks. "Jazzy Hippo?" Jason wondered.

"Don't get distracted boys," Annabeth scorned. "Did you catch what exactly?" She asked Walt.

"The downfall of Egypt," I summed up for her.

My fellow magicians froze in response. "Uh, it's not going to happen again, is it?" Felix worried.

"Don't know," Walt started sourly. "We're not sure if Amos was looking into it for survival sake of the Per Ankh, or if he actually came upon something worthwhile to help everyone involved."

"I'd say worthwhile," Hazel piped up. "Why would Gaia be panicky towards him finding an escape route for a subcategory of humans?"

"Damn, we should have asked Cleopatra some questions!" Walt realized.

"You mean Cleo?" Alyssa asked.

"No, the _real_ deal," I confirmed as I took in our stupidity. "She would know _way_ more than Caroline."

"I think we are kind of out of time for you guys to be making another trip," Julian added. "So what did Carl say?"

"It's Caroline Smith, and she is a former healer of the Twenty-first Nome," I corrected. "And she said something about Cleopatra stopping a threat to Egypt rather than killing herself and sinking Alexandria. Amos makes it sound like it could very well be Gaia she was stopping."

Silence at the table, magicians and demigods exchanging grim looks. "So, sounds like we part ways," Percy started.

"No," I spoke with certainty, "Amos wanted us to keep beside you. I promised to keep peace. I'm _not_ about to go back on my word just because a threat comes walking up to our front door. This is the right thing to do, whatever Cleopatra did is cowardly."

"Uh, we don't know for sure what she did-" Walt reminded.

"She didn't look for help with the Greeks," I defended my stand.

"I think they were Roman," Alyssa corrected.

"Oh, whatever," I sighed out of agitation.

"I feel you there," Percy supported, "just go with whatever the smart guys say."

Annabeth smacked him on the back of the head. "Well, we will gladly let you accompany us if that is what you desire," Annabeth finalized.


	62. Chapter 62

-Jason Grace-

We decided to split up. Two groups, one traveling towards Mount Olympus, the other to secure the city. However, splitting was far more difficult than it used to be with the Egyptians added on. Walt and Sadie helped figure out the kinks in any of the workings of each of the teams.

The team to Olympus happened to be a simple build on common strengths. We need brutal force and combat skills above the average demigod. Percy, Walt, Felix, Hazel, Frank, Piper, and I headed towards Mount Olympus. Leaving the other seven in Thessaly.

This group contained Percy and I as leaders, recently feeling somewhat tense towards each other to prove we are the top. Nevertheless, I quickly realized that Walt had equal footing in this situation, just not a vocal as the water boy and I. Moreover, more aware of the party as a unit rather than individuals as he aided everyone to keep up with us.

It didn't shine through until we stopped to the first sight of giant footprints heading towards Olympus. "Keep a careful eye out," Percy called out swiftly as we took it in, "they might be watching for us."

"Yes, and surprise tactics are all we have to take them down for a few seconds at least," I confirmed.

Walt eyed us both for a second before pulling his wand out and speaking gibberish. In reply, thick grey smoke dispelled from his wand and surrounded us. "Now we just have to worry about silence," he whispered, which Felix, his fellow magician in this group, nodded in excitement.

"What did you do?" I asked as I took in that I could see through the smoke if I focused enough.

"Dispelled an invisibility spell," Felix explained quickly. "Makes it harder for people to see, but there is the occasional few that can depending on who made the spell."

"Yeah, learned that one the hard way didn't we?" Walt grinned to a sudden memory being exchanged between them.

Percy gave the kid a weird look. "Penguin got it's foot stuck in a container of gorilla glue and we tried to hide it from Amos," Walt informed.

"Penguin?" I asked.

Walt hesitated. "Despite what you think, they actually are decent in combat magic," he continued hastily. "Now, let's continue on."

No more discussion between us as Percy and I silently led the other five closer to Mount Olympus. Still only footprints, no actual giant has made themselves apparent. "Hold on," Walt suddenly spoke up.

Percy and I turned to face him as he approached, anxiety getting the best of him. "What's up?" Percy asked.

"We're being watched," Walt spoke softly. "This may sound weird, but the pair of eyes I sense are from the ground itself."

"Yeah, Gaia will be focused here along with her children," I explained. "Overthrowing Olympus is a big deal to them."

"I get _that_," Walt rolled his eyes. "I'm saying they _see_ us," he clarified.

Not quite taking in what was the concern, Felix suddenly shivered to the thought. "What's going on?" Hazel piped up now.

"You think she can see through it?" Percy asked, adrenalin rushed through his words.

Walt opened his mouth to answer, but quickly stopped himself. "Quiet," he whispered instantly as he quickly slipped his staff out.

"There is no need, Stone," the familiar female voice spoke through the cloud of smoke circulating around us. "I am Mother Earth; you cannot hide yourself from me."

"Well, looks like we've been compromised," I muttered under my breath, my sword ready as everyone else pulled their weapons out.

"You came early, demigods," she continued. "They are heading here as we speak. But don't fret, I will still hand you your deaths."

In reply, a swarm of twig figures launched at us. They were easy to handle, but they happen to be in an overwhelming number. Through the magic smoke, I could see a mud figure running around, throwing a few choice strikes. Odd, I've never heard of Gaia doing such a thing, using a mud figure to represent herself.

"Look out for mud!" Percy announced before I could. "Stab it if you can."

The fighting continued, the tree imps falling by the hundreds. I blocked three attacks she tried to get at me during this, but she kept at a far distance. "Wait, there's something wrong," Walt spoke up suddenly.

"Yeah, we're surrounded in smoke and are fighting a million tree imps and a mound of mud," Frank snapped.

"No, I mean with the mud figure," Walt continued.

Almost on cue, she went for a punch to my face, which I slammed my sword into the middle of her chest. A second of praise crossed me before a painful groan settled in my thoughts. I pulled my sword out to see the mud melt to the ground, my sword now covered in blood. "Carter!" Felix screamed once I took in who it was that fell to my feet.


	63. Chapter 63

**I'm sorry, I had to, it was killing me to leave a cliffhanger, though I ****_really_**** wanted to post up the next one. So I'll do a favor and post the next couple up today to make up for it. Thanks for the reviews!**

-Sadie Kane-

Watching Thessaly was the general goal of this group. This didn't make sense to me as we kept hold in the square. "What are we doing here again?" Sean asked.

"Keeping post in the city, make sure nothing suddenly shows up here," Annabeth explained.

And I highly doubt anything was going to attack the city if they were purely focused on this silly mountain. I relaxed against a pillar and pulled a pack of gum out. I then proceeded to exchange gum to those who wanted it before pulling a stick out myself and chewing my frustration out on it.

"Sadie?" A familiar voice started.

I peered to my right to see Amos giving me a confused look as he quickly approached. I suddenly found myself in a hug, which I gave back before he pulled back to peer at me. "What are you doing out here?" He asked.

"Never mind that, what are _you_ doing out here?" I asked now as Alyssa shot me a worried look.

"I managed to escape and found myself here," he explained. "I've been trying to track down Carter for some time as well. No luck yet."

"Carter escaped too?" Hope rushed through me now.

Amos frowned quickly, "No, he was brought up with an escort."

"Uh, Sadie?" Alyssa finally spoke up.

Amos took in everyone else finally. "I see you brought the gang with you, where are the others?"

"Sadie," Annabeth quickly stopped me, "how sure are you that is your uncle?"

My eyes narrowed to her words as Amos grinned. "How else would I have found all of you?" Amos pointed out.

Alyssa's eyes narrowed. "Gaia sent him," she snarled.

I pulled my staff out towards everyone else pulling theirs to attack Amos. "What is _wrong_ with you people?" I snapped.

Alyssa slammed her staff to the ground, which I watched Amos suddenly freeze and then crumble to dirt. "Shabti," she informed as I took in that detail myself.

"It looked _just_ like him," I cried.

"Yeah, how did you two know?" Nico asked.

"I can sense shabtis," Alyssa confirmed.

"He wasn't acting like the Amos I've seen," Annabeth clarified.

Almost on cue, an army of Amos' suddenly surrounded us in the square. "Oh great, it's never going to end!" Leo complained immediately.

"Fake!" Alyssa screamed repeatedly to the crowd of wannabe Amos' trying to be our friend.

I never really imagined that the power of Geb would become this useful, but I am certainly glad we have her with us. Otherwise I would be falling for every single shabti that claimed to be him. Which is honestly pathetic of me to admit, but it's the awful truth.

So when Set showed his ugly face, I immediately threw the ha-di spell at him. "Hey now, I know we're not on good terms, but stop threatening and I think we can live through the day," he snapped.

"Sorry, you just look like the shabtis," I explained as the rest of the group continued to fight them off.

"That's weird," he observed. "Then fair warning, Amos is approaching."

"You mean real Amos or the shabtis?" I asked.

"The real one, why would I care about these guys?" Set snarled.

"Okay, then have him use chaos so we can spot him easier," I continued.

"That would be great, except my connection is still severed. Also, he's not acting like his usual self," Set confirmed.

"Uh, what?" Julian started in surprise.

"Do I have to spell it out for all of you?" Set growled. "Amos is approaching in a foul mood and I can't tell you why."

On cue, Alyssa screamed out the word, "Real! That's the real Amos over there!"

And sure enough, he didn't seem all too pleased himself as he walked amongst the melting shabtis. "Hey Amos," I started warily to see if I could earn a response.

"Sadie Kane," a weird echoed voice left his lips that now held a wide grin.

His eyes were not the familiar twinkling brown set that Brooklyn House knew too well. Instead, they were a bright golden hue that was obviously not normal for anyone. "Well, that makes a little more sense," Set whispered.

I prepared for a fight, something I still struggled against myself mentally. "You're not my uncle," I started coldly. "What are you to think it's funny to even consider possessing him?" I snarled, staff ready with my wand.

"You must come with me or fight your uncle," it continued.

"Awe, that's a lot of fun you can't pass up!" Set informed me quickly, as if his opinion even mattered.

"Set, how about offering helpful advice?" I snarled.

He cleared his throat as Amos readied his staff, "Fight him until one of you tire."

With my luck, it would be me. Besides, there is a reason why Amos is the most powerful magician and I only rank third. "Well, don't get all upset, I'll help a little," Set continued, a reassuring tone that I was used to Amos having.

Annabeth had her eyes fixed on his, as he remained oblivious to everyone but me. "Sadie, it's an Eidolon!" She yelled out as he threw his staff, transforming into a snake before me.

Set rolled his eyes, grabbed it by the head casually, and threw it a few yards away. "I'm getting royally sick of snake staffs," Set growled at Amos.

Amos' grin became large in seconds. A large funnel stood between Amos and Set now, which Set's eyes narrowed to the magic before him. "Do something; it's going to burn him out quick if this keeps up," he announced as he killed the funnel with a wave of his hand.

"The one thing you fear," the voice laughed. "You won't find another host that understands you as well as Kane, will you? And he knows it just as much as you do."

Set's eyes narrowed, "You read his thoughts?"

"All of it, just like you do," it confirmed. "Except, I'm the one thing keeping you on a timer in this world."

"You little fucker!" He formed a small whirl of wind that knocked Amos into a stone pillar.

"Hey," I scolded, "that's my uncle!"

"No, keep it up!" Annabeth encouraged. "The only way to get rid of him is to knock him out."

Set grimaced for a second as he took in how Amos peered back at him. "Everyone, stand back," he instructed now. "I have a different way of going about this; just hate having to do it."

"Do what?" Jaz demanded.

"I'm forcing myself in," Set explained. "Might cause some mental problems for Amos, but what's new?"

I wanted to protest further injury, but Set probably had the right idea. This foreign monster is going to burn him inside out if it keeps up and I did not like the idea of slamming him into things to 'knock him out'. Moreover, Amos already endured a list of mental problems thanks to Set alone.

Set nodded as if he understood my conflicted expression and suddenly transformed into red mist, and seeped into Amos. In seconds, my uncle was on his knees, clawing at his throat and thrashing around as if fighting himself. I held the group back as they showed signs of wanting to help the Chief Lector.

A minute passed when he suddenly slackened, the tension quickly vanished from him as the gold light disappeared into the air. His familiar brown eyes scanned the square as he hands collapsed to the concrete. "Amos?" I asked.

He peered at me and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. My eyes worried as the red mist formed back into Set beside Amos. "He needs some assistance, Jazz," Set informed, "the Mud Goddess muted him."

"It's Jaz, with one Z," she corrected before approaching Amos, taking a knee to let her hand hover over his forehead.

Then she pointed her index and middle finger to his neck and spoke 'regurgitate'. In compliance, Amos suddenly heaved up mud in a vicious manner. Set placed his right hand on Jaz's head. "You _are_ good," he praised before disappearing.

Amos groaned once he managed to relax, arms trembling from the heaving session a few seconds ago. "For once, I'm glad to hear your voice," he grumbled, probably meant towards Set.

Jaz stood up and let me kneel before my uncle, which I attacked him with a hug as I let tears roll down my face. He was alarmed at first, but relaxed once he took in that it was me. "Hey, it's okay," he tried to sooth, but his words didn't seem to mean much to me at the current moment.

I took a deep breath and let go of him. He lifted my chin up to gain eye contact, which he handed me the warm smile he always gave us. "As long as you're okay, I'm okay. Understand?"

I gave him a confused look now, which I suddenly remembered why he was missing for so long. "Amos, what happened?" Julian asked before I did.

His smile slipped away now as his eyes drifted into his thoughts for a few seconds. He then stood up and brushed dust off his crimson suit. Then offered me a hand to stand as well. "Where are the others?" He asked now. "And, uh, where are _we_?"

"Thessaly is where we are. The others are going towards Mount Olympus," Nico replied quickly.

Amos' expression hardened, "We need to catch up to them."

"Uh, you're forgetting something," Sean stopped him quickly.

"Is it _really_ that easy?" Set's voice roared through Amos, who quickly clamped his hands on his mouth out of alarm.

"Set, you shouldn't be talking through Amos like that," I snarled. "And what is he talking about?" I turned to Amos as he let his hands go back to his sides.

Amos hesitated as he took all of us in, "Have you been keeping contact with Isis?"

"Every now and then, but not a lot. Now that I think about it, she hasn't been as annoying as she usual gets-" I admitted.

"It's because she is being conflicted with the other two," he quickly explained. "Isis is pretty important in this situation, despite the many choice words Set is firing off as we speak. In other words, we need you if there is any hope of overcoming this."

"Amos, when do you guys _not_ need me?" I pointed out.

He placed his right hand on my head, just as Set had to Jaz only a minute ago. "If there's something I learned from the many years of causing havoc, it's that you should always have a woman nearby," Amos continued. "Now, we need to catch up to the others. Carter is heading their way."

My eyes widened as he removed his hand. "Wait, what?" I spoke through my alarm.

Amos frowned now, "It is as I said, I _do_ try to speak with a one-sided tongue Sadie. She's wanted to stir a war, and she might even get that if we don't hurry up."


	64. Chapter 64

-Walt Stone-

Jason stood in horror to the mud melting away, revealing Carter Kane as he fell to his feet. "Carter!" Felix screamed and rushed towards him despite the imps that are still attacking us.

"Felix, get back!" I snapped urgently.

In reaction, a bright light blinded us, taking over the imps before dying down. I lifted my right hand over my eyes to peer at a group of magicians approaching. "Protect the Pharaoh at all costs!" A Russian voice ordered quickly. "And kill the Roman filth."

My eyes widened as I took a step forward, taking in that we were practically encountering a Nome with their numbers. "Stop!" I pleaded, arms outstretched to show surrender.

"Who are you?" The Russian woman finally stood before her group.

"My name is Walt Stone, magician of the Twenty-first Nome," I continued.

She huffed at the very thought. "So you attacked the Pharaoh?" She snarled.

"No, it was a mistake," Percy continued, "Gaia planned for us to fall for it."

The woman's eyes narrowed. "Where is Kane?" She snapped, demanding the answer from me.

It's been my experience that Amos is called Kane and Carter is simply Carter. The Per Ankh only calls the oldest male of a family by his last name and the rest by their first. "I don't know-" I started.

"You _don't_ know? Only Amos would hand you orders to walk amongst demigods, boy," she snarled.

"Amos is missing still," Felix spoke up.

"And who are you?" Her eyed drifted to him.

"Felix-" He started before I stopped him.

"You will only talk to me," I snapped. "I am the sole magician representative of this group. Who are you?"

She grinned in reply, "The name is Vika Menshikov, leader of the Eighteenth Nome. The fifth most powerful magician of the Per Ankh and it is my rightful duty to protect the Pharaoh and Chief Lector at all costs."

I frowned to the thought. "So, like Vlad's little sister?" I asked.

"So you have heard of me?" She wondered. "Good, means less explaining for me. Now, with your Nome's leader still missing, I order you to come with us."

My eyes narrowed. "I can't trust your Nome, sorry," I stood my ground. "Especially not after you aiding Jacobi."

"Why can't you all understand?" She snapped. "Jacobi enslaved the entire Nome, I had no say."

"Your brother went about hosting Apophis just so he could take out Desjardins and Kane," I reminded. "You will have to work to get any cooperation."

She suddenly grinned, "You are in a sticky situation, Stone. I would do as I say unless you want to be accused of an attempted assassination."

"We're innocent-" Piper started to use her charm speak.

"Sorry, it won't work. Magicians have a knack of not obeying to weaker beings," Vika informed with distaste. "Stone, step aside or die with them."

I readied my staff and faced Jason and Percy, who gave me a worried look. "Dude, go with them and take Felix-" Percy urged.

"Brooklyn House doesn't cower to threats," I interrupted. "We stand for what we know is right and what needs to be done, and that is what we are doing at this very moment."

"Fools, Amos will lead you straight into Anubis' embrace if you follow him so blindly," Vika growled.

I faced her again with a large grin, "Who says that hasn't already occurred?"

She gave me a confused look and opened her mouth to speak when my hands started to smoke a little, my staff disintegrated to my feet. I sighed, fifth staff I've destroyed thanks to this skin problem. "Death magic…" Her eyes widened in fear, "You embrace Anubis' path?"

"Better, I'm Anubis' host," I replied.

"Stop!" Sadie's voice screamed when she jumped a foot before me, arms outstretched towards Vika.

Vika was alarmed to her appearance that she had to blink and clear her throat before speaking. "Sadie Kane, what brings you here?"

Sadie's eyes narrowed as she tried to catch her breath. "Chief Lector Amos Kane will be here in a minute," she announced, "clear this mess up."

"Sadie," my voice trailed once she took in her brother.

Sadie froze up but kept her place. "Let me guess, it involved mud?" She asked Jason, who is still standing with the Pharaoh's blood dripping from his sword. "Is Carter okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Carter croaked out, which set all of us into alarm except Sadie. "Just in a lot of pain."

"I'd be surprised if you weren't," Hazel added.

Vika snarled, staff ready. "Sadie, you can't tell me you support working with the enemy!" She started.

Sadie straightened, finally catching her breath, arms dropping to her sides. "I didn't at first, but after a while, I got used to them and I want to help."

Vika suddenly sent a fireball towards Sadie, which I stopped with a shield. "You dare to attack my niece?" Amos' voice boomed as he stormed his way to us, a brown fire aimed at the Russian woman. "Attacks directed towards any member of my Nome is a declaration of war, Menshikov. _Especially_ when it's my family you plan to threaten."

"Menshikov?" Sadie's eyes stayed on her uncle as he took a step forward, making himself be between the Russians and us kids.

"Is that you Amos, or Set?" Vika snarled. "You've been encouraging kids to take up hosting I see." Her glare landed on me, which Amos noted with a dry glance towards me before facing her again.

"Walt Stone is a special exception, Vika," Amos' tone warned. "His hosting has nothing to do with me or Set, only between Walt and Anubis. And that has nothing to do with what is going on right now-"

"It is part of it, Kane," she snapped. "The Brooklyn House has been nothing _but_ trouble to the Per Ankh."

"We saved your asses while you sat on it and wasted your time dissing us rather than helping!" Sadie defended.

"Sadie, keep the diplomacy to me will you?" Amos growled.

"No, I've had enough of them judging us rather than themselves!" She snapped. "The Twenty-first Nome is the only reason you still _have_ a Nome!"

Vika's expression saddened a second towards us before snarling towards Amos again. "Yes, only because your leader would have died otherwise. You are always relying on others to have your back, Amos. You are Chief Lector now, can't be relying on kids to save you in every sticky situation."

Amos rolled his eyes now, "Trust me when I say I don't, it simply happens. That _is_ what you get when you're suddenly the only adult your family can turn to."

Vika's eyes narrowed in disgust, "How can you tolerate such a weakling to stand as Chief Lector?"

"Uh, sorry to interrupt," Annabeth took a step forward now, "but I wouldn't consider him weak, especially with what I've discovered over the past month. Now, I would like to urge us to continue-"

"How dare you speak amongst us as equals?" She snapped and sent another fireball that Amos protected us from with an even stronger shield than mine.

"I'll hold her off," Amos started as he took in Jaz aiding Carter back on his feet. "Stand by Alyssa no matter what, she brings Geb with her. And Sadie, only use it if everything else seems dire, understand?"

"What are you talking about?" Sadie demanded as the Russian magicians now attacked Amos' shield with all they had.

Amos suddenly smiled towards her, "A word, dear niece. Now go, do what you've always done."

"I'll aid you-" I started.

"No, all of you go," he finalized as he reformed his shield again. "And uh,"

We watched as he sighed in an irritated fashion. "Disco is better than Jazz," he hated the idea of saying it, which really confused the hell out of us.

"What does music genres have to do with this?" Percy snapped.

Sadie, Carter, and I took in the sudden shade of red in his eyes. All three of us exchanged glances and finalized he will be fine and headed towards the mountain.


	65. Chapter 65

-Amos Kane-

I was ultimately surprised that I formed a shield as quickly as she attacked. "I'll hold her off," I started as I took in Carter will pull through despite Gaia's try. "Stand by Alyssa no matter what, she brings Geb with her," I continued and faced Sadie. "And Sadie, only use it if everything else seems dire, understand?" I firmly instructed, hoping that if she had to resort to such measures that she will pull through as well.

"What are you talking about?" She snapped as the Eighteenth Nome decided to take on my shield with multiple fireballs and small bolts of lightning.

_Oh, this will be nothing like the Jacobi fight,_ Set confirmed what I already knew, _but you know what you have to do first._

I smiled towards her as I suddenly recalled that fight, Sadie's reply to my concern. "A word, dear niece," I replied, which her eyes suddenly lit up in realization. "Now go, do what you've always done."

"I'll aid you-" Walt started.

"No, all of you go," I ordered as I strengthened my shield.

_You have to say it Amos, or else you're on your own,_ Set reminded.

"And uh," I hesitated, wanting to personally strangle the God that decided to _still_ hold such a grudge. "Disco is better than Jazz."

_Ah yes, that's much better,_ Set approved immediately, I could feel his added power pulsing through me within seconds as an award.

"What does music genres have to do with this?" Percy demanded.

_Absolutely nothing,_ I snarled at Set, who only chuckled in reply.

Sadie, Carter, and Walt exchanged looks before nodding and heading towards Mount Olympus, keeping together with Alyssa in the middle as I had instructed. Pleased by their cooperation, which is rare may I add, I turned towards the Eighteenth Nome as I observed what spell would be the best to start off with. Set had already gone a step forward and covered his avatar over me, another added shield which I could probably loosen my shield and depend on Set from here, but the risk is high enough having the God of Chaos backing me up.

"So you want to play with fire and lightning?" His voice boomed through the avatar. "And yet you _know_ that is all Chaos magic, no matter how minor it is."

Vika grinned now as she paused her attacks, letting her Nome continue. "You can't even fight by yourself! You still rely on someone else, Kane," she laughed at the thought.

"What do you expect when the Chief Lector faces a Nome alone?" Our voices mixed, which made a weird low yet jazzy tone as the unified voice we share. "Surrender now, or face Set's restricted wrath," we warned.

"Restricted?" Vika grinned wildly, "You cannot control Set, Amos."

_Hu, where did we hear that before?_ I reminded Set quickly, who growled in response.

"No one controls me!" Set roared. "Not even when I'm confounded to fighting in my host's body rather than my own form!"

To keep our union, I didn't argue against him. Honestly, it requires all of my focus to keep him concealed while he fights everyone, a weird but very effective battle strategy. I slipped into the position of restricting his movement when needed as he waved my shield away, staff ready as his avatar grinned.

In reply to the entertained grin Set bared at them, the Eighteenth Nome stopped; Vika took a step forward now. "I don't need a Nome to fight you, Amos," she started harshly. "I will fight you alone, even _with_ Set on your side."

I couldn't help but smirk myself. "At least Vlad was smart not to cross Set, but now you look personally for death," The mixed voice continued.

Her eyes narrowed, "You're reputation is made up of fear thanks to Set. In all reality, you are as strong as an eight-year-old, Ignorant American."

"Eight-year-old!" Set snarled. "I've banished Apophis by myself long before your great-great-grandfather knew how to draw hieroglyphs!"

_Set, she's just riling you up,_ I informed quickly. _Don't get too winded up._

"I know what's she's doing, you _don't_ have to tell me, Amos. I can get as pissed off as I want."

To prove his point, he slammed the staff to the ground, forming a deep crevice between Vika and her Nome, making certain that they can't interfere. Vika grinned to hearing Set's part of our argument. "Yeah Amos, Set's his own guy. You can't control him, _he_ controls you," she encouraged.

_Oh,_ Set decided to conceal the rest of it between us. _I see what you mean._

_Wow, and you couldn't just read my thoughts to know that instead?_ I snarled in reply.

_Well, I get distracted if you haven't noticed,_ Set defended. _And it's a Menshikov, we should kill her before her plans fall through._ As if to add to his point, Vika summoned a shabti to launch at us, which Set grasped it by the throat and dissolved it into sand.

_No, Set,_ I snarled. _I've explained this a thousand times already, we don't kill simply because of their family's reputation._

Vika smirked, taking in that we weren't exactly focused on her, "Still arguing, are we?"

"No, just deciding on how to go about killing you, Lady Menshikov," Set replied in a rare sincere tone. "Maybe we should let _you_ decide. Do you prefer fire or lightning? Or maybe quicksand? Or an overly vicious tornado to rip your skin off-"

"Set!" I snarled.

Vika gave us an intrigued look now. She opened her mouth to reply when an earthquake erupted from under our feet. In the confusion, I slammed my staff to force Egyptian magic into the ground in hopes to stop it from turning into mud under our feet. "Clever," her voice spoke from around us, Vika and her Nome standing ready for a fight with the voice rather than me.

"Who is it?" One Russian male voice demanded.

"Gaia of Greece," I replied hotly. "Vika, do you happen to know anything other than assassinating magicians?" I asked quickly.

She snarled towards my words. "It's not a dis; I want to know what you're capable of as a magician," I snapped. "Might prove to be a matter of life and death on our part."

"Nothing God-like if that's what you're asking," Vika's eyes narrowed.

"Shu!" A familiar boy's voice announced as he jumped across the cavern Set had made seconds ago.

"Leonid?" I finally recalled, and then put in that he probably used the path of Shu to even get over the crevice.

"What?" Vika glared at him, but he didn't let it get to him as he grinned towards me before a quick bow.

"I won't fail again," he managed to speak in English.

I placed my right hand on his left shoulder, earning a surprised look from the boy as I gave him a reassuring smile, "You never have."

Vika's eyes darted towards me now as Leonid straightened. "You have been following the Path of Shu?" She demanded.

Leonid hesitated to nod towards her, expecting punishment from his Nome's leader. I instinctively kept my hand on him, warning towards Menshikov that she took in with narrow eyes. "Gaia wants us to fight, Menshikov," I informed. "It doesn't matter if it's against the demigods or amongst ourselves. Any fight might release Apophis again."

Leonid and several other Russians shivered to the name of the serpent I mistakenly let out. "For the time being, you should pledge your allegiance behind our Pharaoh until this situation clears out."

Vika growled to my very words, "What do you suggest then, Chief Lector Kane? I highly _doubt_ we will get past the ground we stand on currently."

"Perhaps not," I admitted dryly as I took in that the ground ten feet away from us looks quite gooey. "Except Leonid might be able to fly everyone who can't travel through the air towards Alyssa."

"Alyssa?" Vika judged.

"Yes, she's following the Path of Geb," I informed quickly. "Where she walks, Geb follows. In other words, it's best to stay near her for sturdy ground."

Vika's hands loosened their death grip on her staff. "Alright, but only for the House of Life, _not_ you, Kane," she snarled in disgust towards my name.

"Gah, you never let me have a decent fight!" Set complained before loosening the avatar.

I nodded towards Leonid now. "I'll lead the way," I announced before transforming into the horrid fruit bat.


	66. Chapter 66

-Carter Kane-

We managed to make it to the foot of the mountain, all the while Sadie was trying to catch me up to the major details I missed being stuck in an air bubble underground. "So, giants are trying to kill the roots of Greek and Roman Gods?" I summed up.

"Yeah, all are banes of a portion of the Gods," Jason continued.

"Like Polarus as the Bane of Ares?" I seethed to recalling the giant treating our uncle like a pet.

"Uh, yeah," Percy confirmed. "When did you run into him-" He started to ask.

"Percy," Annabeth snapped, "Ares tried to start a war between the Big Three. His Bane is _exactly_ like that. And Set already told us that his other two forms are Ares and Mars."

Sadie's eyes widened towards me as I dreaded recalling our wasted time under his watch just for this one moment to cause a massive war between our worlds. "What happens to our Gods when theirs die?" I asked Sadie next.

"How am _I_ supposed to know?" She snapped. "You were the one with Amos the entire time!"

"I'm going to take a leap here and suggest massive Chaos," Walt jumped into the discussion. "And if we won't create it to stir Apophis back, that might do the trick alone."

My expression hardened to the thought, I really hate that damn adder even after banishing him into the depths of the Duat. "Okay, let's puzzle out the other Gods quickly then," I started as we started extreme hiking up the mountain. "Horus, I think Gaia said something along the lines of Zeus and Jupiter," I recalled.

"Uh, what?" Jason gaped at me in utter shock.

I gave him a confused look now, "Know them?"

"Dude," Percy continued, "Jason is Jupiter's kid."

My eyes widened to the thought. "Don't think too hard on it," Annabeth suggested. "All it will do is confuse us when we _really_ need to focus on how to fight Gaia."

I nodded as I turned to Sadie now. "What about Isis?" I asked her.

Sadie shook her head, "Don't have a clue."

"Well, what is your Isis like?" Piper asked.

Sadie gritted her teeth as she thought a moment, "Good with magic, horrid person."

"Boy, that doesn't narrow it down much," Frank continued. "All of our Gods are generally assholes."

"And Isis could be a male or female figure in our worlds," Annabeth continued.

"You're kidding?" Nico raised his eyebrows towards her.

She shook her head, "I got along well with Thoth. Took me a while, but I'm certain he is the original form of my mother."

"Ugh, that weirdo hanging around smelly monkeys and whatnot?" Percy made a disgusted face.

"Hey now," Sadie stopped his complaining, "he helped us get an idea as to what Amos got into trouble for in the first place."

I shot her a confused look now, "You know?"

Sadie grinned in reply, "Oh Carter, I don't know how you are still breathing. First the fact that you were too self-centered to _know_ that Amos was next in line for Chief Lector, and now _this_?"

"Wait, you didn't know?" Walt stared at me in amazement.

"You did?" I questioned further.

"Yeah, Bast told all of us about it," he confirmed.

I grumbled to the thought, "Okay, back on topic. Osiris?"

"Is Hades, or Pluto," Nico replied proudly. "Hazel's and my father, and from what I hear, your father hosts Osiris."

"Oh boy," Hazel continued, "this _really_ is turning into a confusing mess."

"Be lucky you're not the son of that weird Set dude," Frank pointed out.

"Guys," Percy interrupted, "accept the fact that we are all swimming in the confusing mess that we call our lives."

"Okay, Bast?" I wondered if they would even have a cat goddess.

"What is she like?" Leo asked.

"Goddess of Family, obsessed with cats," Sadie answered.

"Who knows," Annabeth shrugged. "Okay, Poseidon?"

"Nephthys?" Sadie suggested.

"No, she's is a river Goddess, but she's the Goddess of sleep," I informed quickly. "I think Sobek is the one we want to peg."

Sadie shivered to the reminder of the crocodiles that chased after us, Bast sacrificing herself into the Duat with him. "He's not very nice to run into," I explained to the demigods.

"Aphrodite?" Piper questioned next.

"Hathor, easily," I replied.

"Hephaestus?" Leo hesitated to ask. "God of Craftsmanship?"

"Ptah, or the God of Spit," Sadie was quick to answer, earning a small jab from Walt.

We all stopped to a chuckling voice surrounding us. "Keep close to Alyssa!" I recalled Amos' set of instructions.

The mud figure appeared again, staring right at me as she approached, stopping ten feet away as I gripped my sword tightly. "It's a shame that the world balances on the shoulders of such youthful faces," she started smoothly, slowly following the perimeter of ten feet. "Even the Per Ankh has resorted to taking a child as Pharaoh."

"Shut up!" I snapped. "The Per Ankh is _not_ weak for having me as Pharaoh. I am _not_ the most powerful magician, I only rank second. Even so, your actions towards my family will not sit will once I gain a chance to get my vengeance."

She grinned now, "Oh yes, I almost forgot that is what Horus is famous for." Gaia observed the rest of us, sixteen kids trapped in the small area of protected ground Alyssa seems to bring with her thanks to following the Path of Geb. "I really do need to discipline Polarus for letting your Chief Lector go so easily," she snarled. "If you don't hand over the demigods, I will ensure all of you godlings are pets to my children," Gaia threatened.

Making it worse, Percy seemed to shiver a second to her threat. "Uh, Carter?" Sean asked after a few nervous seconds.

I cleared my throat and faced the ugly mound of mud grinning like a lunatic from her distance. "Sadie and Amos may be the only close family I have, but I consider everyone standing here my brothers and sisters," I finalized. "You won't win with threats of that sort."

Gaia's expression hardened in disgust. "Perhaps I will hand you and your sister to my brother instead," she continued harshly.

Sadie's eyes widened. "Apophis?" Her voice shook.

Gaia grinned to the mention, "Yes, he is born of Chaos, just like I was."

My eyes narrowed to the thought, but Sadie just laughed, "Newsflash, we _banished_ you adder brother. What makes you think _you_ stand a chance?"

Gaia's 'eyes' narrowed when a sudden high pitch sound interrupted. I peered up, blocking Ra's rays with my right hand as I took in a familiar fruit bat that quickly perched himself on Sadie. In response, Sadie freaked and swatted the bat off, which he ended up on the ground, practically glaring at Sadie now.

"Amos?" I questioned the thought, but he was the only one I knew that could use the form.

I was answered by a swirl of red smoke snaking around him once he transformed back into himself. "Looks like you are all enjoying Gaia's earthy skills too," he continued, glaring at the figure of mud as well.

"I am _so_ sorry-" Sadie jumped into apologies.

He waved her worry away, "I should have known better than to land on you. I'll just remember next time to pick Carter instead."

Sadie still obviously felt bad for swatting at our uncle like she had. "You ditched the Russians?" Gaia chuckled.

"Oh no, but I guess a bunch of rowdy kids would be distracting enough for you to lose interest in the adults running around here as well," Amos was definitely being smug now. "I know, I'm the Nome leader of kids. I have to put others in charge to keep me in the hopeful ideal that they won't cause trouble."

Within seconds, a large surge of wind came crashing against us. Amos slammed his staff into the mountain, somehow pushing Gaia away further, therefore allowing an entire Nome to join us. "Good job Leonid," Amos encouraged quickly as Gaia snarled to the sight.

"Uh, you brought a party along?" Sadie shot Amos a questioning look. "Of Russians even."

"We stand for the Pharaoh," Lady Vika Menshikov clarified. "I will get over the fact that it means standing beside a pathetic boy of a Chief Lector to protect the Per Ankh."

Two seconds of silence as I took in that everyone's eyes were settled on me. "Uh, thanks, could do without the insults towards my uncle though."

She disregarded my last sentence with an ugly sigh and quick wave of her right hand. "Why are we standing around?" She demanded now.

Alyssa shot Amos a scared look now. "I only have a ten foot radius-" She started.

Amos sighed with a knowing nod. "I'll channel magic through the ground as we go," he explained. "It will give us a better chance of getting through without stepping into the traps."

"You are a handful alone, Chief Lector," Gaia snarled in disgust, even worse than Vika's.

An earthquake interrupted anyone from retorting. Amos' eyes widened to the thought as he turned to me, "Time to run."

Apparently when Amos says run, he quite literally means until your lungs turn inside out and the mountainside looks steeper than usual. The Russians did nicely with the demigods when it came to staying beside Alyssa, but some of us American magicians were struggling to keep up. Of course, this led to Amos pushing us further while slamming his staff into the ground repeatedly. It got to the point that someone else started doing the same as Amos, and it took me awhile to see that it was Vika who resorted to such measures.

I quickly decided it might be wise to see what spell they were using to channel Egyptian magic into the earth. So I slowed down a bit and stood beside my uncle, who only regarded this action with a small nod and continued pushing Felix further up Mount Olympus. When he slammed his staff for the thousandth time, I took notice of a bright red hieroglyph that floated around him and then traveled into the ground with each slam. "Geb?" I could barely ask as we kept dashing up this never-ending mountain.

Amos simply nodded. "Hosting a child of Geb gives you the special privilege to channel him when you desperately need to. Kind of like a gift, if you will," he explained between gasps for air.

Interesting, but I could tell it was taking its toll on the Chief Lector to keep doing it. "What is Menshikov using then?"

Amos shot me a confused look and glanced ahead to see her slam her staff as well. "Oh great, I was hoping I could rely on her to be of help rather than tire herself as well," he grumbled to the thought.

I raised my right eyebrow towards the Chief Lector now, who replied in the same manner. "You know, you're one of the few people that dare to look at me like that," he announced.

"Hum, there should be more then," I started in a teasing manner. "Keep you out of trouble all the time."

"Oh, _I'm_ the one causing trouble?" He continued. "It's a good thing we're family Carter."

"Why, you'd beat me up?" I grinned, earning weird looks from a few initiates that could overhear this conversation.

"I figured Sadie would be the handful, but you prove me wrong every chance you get," he grinned as well. "It must be your father than rubbed off on you from all of that traveling."

"Come on you slow pokes!" Sadie interrupted quickly. "We're almost halfway up this damn thing!"

A sudden low chuckle brushed over us, the trees besides us being uprooted to the force as Amos abruptly turned. "Well, shit," he tried to say under his breath. "Zhang, stay behind!" He yelled out as I turned to take in the familiar towering figure making his way towards us.

"Uncle-" I started.

"Carter, I'm passing full leadership to you," Amos continued despite my concern. "I'm sure you are aware of who he's after."

I sighed in an irritated manner before slamming my staff into the ground, the similar hieroglyph floating in gold. "We'll come back for you," I reassured before following the rest of the group, Frank giving my uncle a worried look.


	67. Chapter 67

-Amos Kane-

Frank Zhang, son of Mars, stood beside me with a large amount of uncertainty crossing his expression. "Uh, what are _we_ doing?" He finally asked as I considered spells that would work best against something so, well, big.

"Are you not the Roman son of Set?" I asked hastily.

His hands trembled to the thought, "H-How did you-"

"Trust me, don't ask," I waved off quickly. "To take down a giant, you need a God and demigod, correct?" I asked as the red avatar reformed.

His eyes widened as he took in the shield surrounding me, "Y-Yeah-"

"Set suggested you, something along the lines of you having better breeding," I quickly summed up. "So, you're the unlucky kid of the day. Ready?"

"Wait, how is this going to-" Frank's voice tumbled out of fear.

"Stand tall and grip your sword like you mean it," Set snapped. "No kid of mine is going to die because he's _scared_ of his father's original form, got it?"

Despite its cruelness, it seemed to get Zhang focused rather than jumpy. "Ah ha, so you decided it would be best to join me instead of fight?" Polarus chuckled as he peered at us, "And you even brought a son of his. You really _are_ a crafty golding-"

"Polarus, we must continue on!" A larger giant scowled to the sight of us.

"I'll catch up, continue on. I'll deal with these two," Polarus reassured.

The fellow giants stomped past us, both Frank and I struggling to keep on our feet due to the mountainside shaking. _That would be the army,_ Set scoffed, _and we can't let them get up there._

I turned to Frank now, who shot me a concerned look that made me wonder if we were even doing the right thing. _You got that right, but I have a little present to aid you in the fight anyways,_ Set suddenly started.

The ground to my left and right started to stir, which I slammed my staff to the ground for the hundredth time in the last hour. This didn't stop it though, rather two strangely familiar looking dogs now materialized in the exact spots that the ground was moving. "Uh," Frank grew nervous to the sight, which I can't blame him for their the weirdest thing to set your eyes on.

I gestured him to lower his sword towards them as they peered at me, as if waiting for instructions. "Set animals?" I asked aloud.

"Awaiting your command," Set continued through the avatar. "It's not like I don't know your preferred fighting style Amos, I see and hear everything you do."

Frank studied them a moment. "Are they even a real animal?" He asked.

"Of course they are real!" Set snarled. "Now take a good look and follow their lead kid."

"What?" I stood in alarm to the God's words as Frank closed his eyes.

In a few seconds, the demigod suddenly turned into an exact mimic of the Set animals. I stood frozen to such information as Set let out a good chuckle, "I _told_ you, good breeding!"

"You know magic?" I turned to the newest dog, peering up at me.

"It's Chinese, _not_ Egyptian," Frank spoke gruffly. "Now, how about we get rid of the giant?"

I was about to hand him a lecture on magic in general, but Set intervened, "Zhang, you need to distract him while we deal the major blows."

**Okay, this is going to be the last one for today. I might update tomorrow. Thank you for the reviews!**

**Also, is it me or does Zhang's family seem still pretty mysterious despite Rick's explanation of him being able to transform? Hmmm... Might have to write a One-shot on it.**

**And a question for all of you lovely readers! Who is your favorite character of the POJ and TKC series? Mine happens to be Amos (if you couldn't already tell). If I was to pick one from POJ, I think it would be Leo.**

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!**


	68. Chapter 68

-Jason Grace-

We found ourselves breaking into the clouds surrounding Mount Olympus finally, the ground still shaking from below us. "We are being followed by several giants," The Russian woman snarled towards the apparent Pharaoh.

Carter Kane didn't pay attention to her and faced Percy and I. "Can you reach your Gods here?" He asked quickly.

"Probably not, Zeus has locked up Olympus for some time now," Percy informed dryly.

Carter grew distressed to the thought. "I've lost contact with Horus again," he announced quietly towards us. "If we can't contact them, this is most likely a losing war."

"Wait, so now we _don't_ have your Gods on our side?" My eyes widened to the thought. "And we have an entire army following us as we speak!"

Carter opened his mouth to reply when a sudden bolt of lightning struck five feet ahead of us. We all managed to get to a screeching halt and took in the burnt ground. "You dare to approach Mount Olympus this way?" His familiar voice roared from twenty feet ahead, glaring at all of us.

Well, the King of Gods is never usually alone; he obviously had the whole gang with him. Athena, Apollo, Hephaestus, even the dreaded Hera supported him as they approached all of us. "Wait, where's Ares?" Percy asked abruptly.

Zeus immediately glared as his nephew. "Causing trouble, most likely," he spoke with much disregard. "Percy Jackson, not only have you ignored my rule, you have also formed a horrid alliance with the Romans and Egyptians!"

"Shut up!" Carter snapped, earning shock from all of the demigods as he boldly approached the Greek Gods.

"Carter-" His sister started worriedly.

"You aggravating fucking bird!" Carter stopped literally in Zeus' face, which honestly alarmed him. "Stop being so pompous and aid us in defending your turf. Then we can speak boundaries."

Zeus finally pushed Carter gently out of his face, studying the magician. "Do I know you?"

Carter's face grew red with outrage, his fists clenching to the thought. "Carter Kane, be at ease," Hera suddenly spoke, her tone the only one calm. "Forgive my husband, the Roman and Greek forms are usually disconnected to the thoughts of the Gods you know us by."

"But you know?" Carter demanded.

She grinned a motherly grin towards him now, earning questionable looks from us who know her. "I know many things, surely you learned of that by now."

"Wait, you planned to bring the Egyptians into this too?" Percy spoke up.

She peered at us, as if counting all of us and knowing each name. "Sadie, you know-"

"Yeah yeah, I know," Sadie took a step forward, standing beside us. "I ended up with the Goddess that knows it all."

Hera simply smiled towards her, "You already know then that you cannot reach our Egyptian forms. Therefore, you must put up with us for aid."

"Wait, how am I supposed to use the spell if you're not in my head?" Sadie demanded.

"_What_ is going on here?" Zeus' anger got the best of him now, angrily peering at his wife.

"So hosting Gods wasn't the way?" Walt asked.

"No, it never really was, Stone," Hera continued, ignoring her husband. "Your magic might be able to release us from the imprisonment of these forms. There are so many of you following different Gods too, you must be able to aid."

"Aid in what?" Sadie demanded.

"Sadie," Hera turned to her again, "what your uncle was looking into happens to be a way to mend us back into our original forms for a short time. With that, we can perhaps get Geb to bury himself further into the Duat."

"Therefore banishing Gaia?" Carter asked.

A sudden flash appeared and Ares dusted his hands off with a large grin stretched across his face. "And where have _you_ been?" Zeus demanded as he peered at his son.

"Oh, finishing up some much needed business," Ares nodded towards Carter, who widened his eyes in reply.

"Wanna help get your nephew to cooperate?" Carter snarled towards him.

"Uh, that would be _father_ in this case," Percy corrected quickly.

Ares thought for a moment before turning to Zeus' demanding glare, "They are coming. I just aided in bringing down Polarus."

"And who helped you with that?" Athena demanded.

Ares grinned towards her now, "Sorry sis, can't say. Top secret, you know-"

"You know too?" I asked of the God.

Ares paused to peer at me, "Yes, I am closer linked to him than Mars. Though, Mars is also closer to him than he is to me."

"Okay, let's skip the messy conversation," Percy suggested. "What do we need to do?"

Hera peered at Percy and I now, "Demigods, you must help us fight them off. Magicians, you are, for the majority of us, the only link we have to our original forms. You must have physical contact for the spell to be affective. For example," Hera gripped her husband's wrists and extended them towards Carter.

Carter eye's widened, but Hera insisted in her glare that he put his own hands around Zeus'. "Just like that, the exception goes to Alyssa," Hera peered at her, which the girl's breath slowed as she peered at the ground under her feet. "We don't have much time, demigods; you should get ready to defend us," she instructed as she peered past us.


	69. Chapter 69

-Amos Kane-

Polarus was an easy fix. I wasn't sure if the fight was over, even after seeing his body fade into the air as golden dust. Frank had quickly transformed back into himself as my avatar disappeared with the Set animals. "It's decided, you are scary," Frank spoke through gasps of air.

"Yeah, well we are not even close to being done," I reminded dryly as I slammed my staff into the ground, my own thoughts starting to drag down from exhaustion. "You can transform into different animals?" I asked.

"Yep, pretty handy," Zhang confirmed.

"How about something that can fly?" I asked.

He thought for a moment, "I can't really think of one right now, too worn out-"

I waved the excuse away, "Need an example?"

"Uh," he started as I quickly turned back into the fruit bat, "not sure a bat is the best way to travel."

I was about to lecture him, but it just sounded out as high pitched squawking. "Okay, fine, don't throw a temper about it," Frank rolled his eyes.

It took a minute, but he managed and we went about catching up to the group. In a matter of ten minutes, we discovered the army of giants that passed us earlier fighting the demigods that made up our group. We managed to dodge the many swords and trees to get past it. "About time!" Set's voice emanated from a grinning man that I honestly couldn't tell you who he was.

So I landed two feet away from this weirdo, assuming that he is more than likely just another form of Set, Frank landing beside me. We transformed back and I took in the situation. "Frank," the God started, "go help your friends."

He didn't hesitate and charged towards the ongoing fight. Then the stranger grabbed my hands to completely throw me off. "What the-" I started.

"Precaution," he replied, as if _that_ was supposed to make sense. "Alright, proceed," he turned to his right.

I looked over to see Carter in the same situation, actually all of the Twenty-first Nome and Leonid were. The Eighteenth Nome must have been aiding the demigods. "What is this?" I could barely speak, as I took in a sudden surge of magic coming from Sadie as she closed her eyes, familiar to when she fixed the crumbling First Nome.

"What do you think it is?" The man peered at me again, "Didn't notice that I'm not in your head?"

My eyes widened as I took in the information. "Ma'at!"

A blinding light overtook us. It reminded me of fifteen years ago, the mistake I made as Chaos overtook her. My mind raced to the thought as I could feel my exhaustion beginning to drain away. _Relax, you are making this complicated,_ Set's voice rang out.

I could finally make out the very familiar grinning God before me, replacing the stranger that had practically a death grip on my hands. Tempted to literally punch him in the face, I figured I should probably listen and tried to relax my nerves. Once I did, I took in the familiar red smoke coming off him and snaking into the sleeves of my suit. "Wait, are we rebounding ourselves?" I asked him.

_Actually, we're merging,_ Set corrected. _Our original forms are far to blinding for the demigods. The only way to have it work is to basically stuff ourselves into our hosts._

"_What_?" I snapped.

_It's only temporary,_ Set defended.

"What is the difference to the Eye and 'stuffing yourselves into us'?" I snarled.

_Will you please shut up? You're putting us in a rather ridiculous mess right now,_ Set instructed. _Everyone else is done, and we're still trying to finish this process thanks to your panicking_.

I hesitated, but decided to relax. The surge of power running through me felt even warmer than usual, as if I was on fire suddenly. Usually as the Eye, I can usually notice a hint of rising temperature each time we use magic, but it recedes just as quickly. I told myself not to panic, and eventually the light dimmed back into the scene on the mountainside.

He was gone, and I looked around to see everyone looking at each other to ensure we made it out just fine. _This is awkward,_ Set started.

_I thought you said you picked the right guy,_ Set snarled.

_Obviously not, all three of us are trapped in here instead._ I was starting to freak out now.

_What is going on!_ I demanded, slumping to the ground as I started shaking.

_Look, we even confused the hell out of him,_ One Set continued.

_No, it's just a simple error, _he replied to himself.

_Simple error?_ I feared asking.

_I agree, this isn't simple, _he continued, _we were supposed to be combined._

**Only two Chapters today. I'll have more next time, which might be Monday.**


	70. Chapter 70

**Okay, guess I lied, I'm updating today.**

-Walt Stone-

The bright light vanished, leaving me on the mountain with a somewhat familiar face. He wasn't wearing the scientist robe or wearing his glasses, rather he looked even closer to being an Egyptian for once. "Thoth?" I asked.

"Ah, no," he grinned towards me, "I prefer Dejhuty."

My eyes widened to the piece of news, "What happened?"

"Good question," he studied me a moment. "We are being mended together again. Back to the way we were _before_ the Greeks came and ruined it all."

"So, more original than the Egyptian forms?" I concluded.

"You are quite an intellectual," Dejhuty praised. "We're more powerful as well. We had to dull our strengths out to be more compatible with the Per Ankh."

"We got weaker since the downfall of Egypt," I added as I took in the news. "Wait, what about the current hosts?"

As if on cue, the majority of my fellow magicians appeared around us. They seemed fine to me, with perhaps a few quirks thrown in to the stronger Gods hosting them. I was deeply relieved to see them all okay, taking each in. "Hu, it appears that Seth is taking his time." Dejhuty spoke with much thought on the matter.

My eyes widened as scenarios ran through my head. "Sadie, did Amos know what was going on?" I asked as I turned to her.

Sadie's eyes suddenly filled with fear as she took in that he wasn't anywhere in sight. "Oh Gods, no one warned him that we were even doing this!" She panicked.

"What's going on?" Carter piped up.

I was about to answer when a small flash of light appeared, quickly dissolving from behind us. I turned to find Amos blankly taking in the scene before suddenly falling to his knees. We all took that as a visible hint that something went wrong and surrounded him. Sadie, Carter, and Dejhuty made their way through the crowd to kneel beside him.

"Hey, Amos?" Carter spoke nervously, taking in that their uncle's eyes were distant still as he shivered.

"Nod if you can hear us," Sadie pleaded.

He made no motion to recognize us, which Dejhuty waved Carter and Sadie to back off. "Seth?" He asked directly to Amos.

"Sorry, trying to clear up the pandemonium at the moment," Set's voice replied.

"You made sure your host is of pure blood?" Dejhuty started.

"Oh yeah, cause I would totally want to fuck with some other guy's head," Set snarled. "We're stuck. He's exhausted and just a little under an average ancient Egyptian host."

"Y-you didn't mend?" I asked.

"If I did, you would be talking to Amos," Set growled, his anger not going well with Amos' expression of panic.

"S-So there are two more of you in his head?" Carter's eyes widened.

Dejhuty looked out towards the ongoing fight, "All of you should help them. I will see to fixing this."


	71. Chapter 71

-Annabeth Chase-

"I cannot repeat myself enough for you Seaweed Brain, watch out for the feet!" I snarled as he almost was trampled on for the hundredth time already.

"It's a little harder with a whole army of them, give me a break!" Percy snapped as he slashed at another's foot.

"We're not going to last much longer!" Hazel yelled out. "We need a God ASAP!"

I was about to speak in the magicians' defense when a large force started to weigh our movements down. The Russian leader, or Vika Menshikov as the Chief Lector named, gasped as she peered above the giants' heads. I looked up to find a large glowing hawk man slam into a giant's head, stirring dizziness as the other giant's peered at the hybrid.

"Don't just _stand_ there!" Carter's voice yelled towards us, which alone sent a wave of invisible weight on us, probably layered thick in magic. "To war!"

To add to the urgency, a large wave of dirt crashed against another giant. I turned to find the Brooklyn House rushing to our aid; Alyssa waved her arms around to form more waves of dirt. To my interest, the dirt pinned the giants by trapping their many snake-like feet in it.

I quickly turned towards Percy, who gave me a worried look. "The Gods are with us, let's end it!" I supported the young Pharaoh's words as I sliced an ankle apart with a swing of my left arm.

After a while of chaos from the Gods approaching, the giants seemed to finally understand that Gaia/Terra was no longer with them as they faced a sole girl able to manipulate the earth from under them with a simple gesture of her fingers. "Attack the magician girl," one roared.

As Jason summoned lightning to slam into a giant Carter was bashing with hieroglyphs and his bent sword, Sadie and I took on another close by. In the silence, we seemed to pair up to improve efficiency in this battle. Once the giant evaporated into gold dust, I peered towards Sadie Kane to see she had a golden aura to her.

"Alyssa, watch out!" Felix screamed as he summoned a penguin her way.

Sadie and I turned to find mud pulling her in, despite the fact that she has the power of the Egyptian Earth God. My mind raced to different ways to help, when a sudden flash of red smoke slammed into her. "Alyssa!" Sadie screamed as we both made our way to her.

"You okay?" The Chief Lector's voice asked from the smoke.

"Yeah, thanks!" Alyssa spoke enthusiastically. "I thought you were practically crippled?"

"I'm managing." The smoke started to separate to reveal their figures as we walked into the cloud of smoke. "Besides, you have the harder job than I do, can't let you down."

Sadie quickly attacked her uncle with a quick hug. "I'm _so_ sorry Uncle-" She started to cry.

"Not now Sadie," Amos started strictly. "Keep up what you've been doing. I'll protect Alyssa. Annabeth, keep a good eye on my niece." He gained eye contact with me, looking quite exhausted.

"You sure you can handle the task alone?" I asked him now.

"I have the easy job," he snapped. "Now get your asses out there before I am forced to throw you back into the fight."


	72. Chapter 72

-Amos Kane-

Annabeth and Sadie hesitated to take on another giant as the cloud of tainted smoke finally disappeared. "Keep focused on the male voice," I instructed to her. "The women are the enemy."

"I know, she just interferes as much as she can," Alyssa admitted through frustration.

_Wait, she's hosting Terra?_ The voice probably belonged to Mars.

_Oh good, now's the chance to beat her face in._

_Shut up! It isn't her fault that she's hosting the wench!_ I trusted to be Set.

_I said quiet!_ I snapped as I watched her manipulate the ground under another giant.

A rock got flung towards us by a lucky giant. I barely managed to form my shield, but I took in that it was weaker compared to what it should be. _You're going to burn up,_ Set continued,_ let me help-_

The bolder fell beside me, but it destroyed my shield that protected us. _No, the three of you will just fuck with my head if I let you._

_Moreover, we will all die if we keep on the sidelines,_ Set continued. _Admit it, you need my assistance._

I sighed out of irritation as I took in a giant managed to dig himself out of the clever trap Alyssa made. _I have another way,_ I reminded as I reviewed the fight we last had with her.

_How sure are you that will work?_ Set asked.

_Anything is possible; I have three different versions of you in my head for crying out loud._ I now yanked the seven arrows out of my locker. _If this proves pointless, then I'm ready to die for it._

Alyssa suddenly took a glance towards me. "Wait, is that-" She started to ask.

"I summon Sekhmet!" I yelled out, the mountainside letting my voice echo, therefore freezing some people to utter confusion as I tossed the arrows.

"Amos, she'll kill us all!" Carter screamed as the arrows orbited around the giant that wormed his way out of the earthy trap.

"What are you doing?" Sadie added to the panic.

As I recalled, the arrows started to spin quickly until they set on fire, spewing smoke in the giant's face until it blazed into the lioness herself, bow and arrows ready as she quickly struck him with ten arrows. "Die!" She screamed.

"That will only buy some time," I quickly explained to Alyssa's paralyzed expression. "She won't attack you, or anyone hosting a pure God at the current moment."

_Or maybe just focus on a certain individual wearing red,_ Set started as I took in her eyes on me.

"_You_! I killed you!" She quickly started for me.

"That's just fantastic," I dryly noted.

_Told you it would backfire,_ Set started smugly.

"Die!" She quickly rushed towards me, ready for notching another series of arrows at me exactly like last time.

"Stop, you bloodthirsty cat!" I snapped, which she practically froze. "Do you want to be returned as a cow any time soon?"

She hissed in reply. "Then help defend Geb!" I pointed to Alyssa for her to understand. "Or else watch the world die from below our own feet, got it?"

Sekhmet's eyes burned a golden flame as she observed me for a moment. "Or I kill all of you and call it a day? Who are you to hand orders, Kane? I can see past your act, you're desperate due to exhaustion."

"I, _Chief Lector_ Kane, summoned you to defend Geb," I snarled in reply. "If you desire it, I will allow you to kill me after you succeed in your duty."

"_What_?" Sadie snapped.

Sekhmet grinned to the thought. "You place a large amount of faith into my helping," she purred. "The only one that placed that kind of responsibility on my shoulders was Ra. I will help you, Kane covered in blood. But I _will_ take you up on your offering as well."

"You will fight anyone that wishes harm on Geb and his host?" I asked to make sure.

She bowed in reply, eyes still on me as I saw her lick her lips, "Anything to taste the blood of the Eye of Set."

_Creepy and effective,_ One of the three replied.

_I've dealt with Bast, I trust I'm an expert on cats by now,_ I added smugly back, hoping Set was getting pissed off.


	73. Chapter 73

-Sadie Kane-

I had ha-di another giant and Miss Know-It-All dealt another deathblow as I looked over to see the lioness was glaring at my uncle. "Who are you to hand orders, Kane? I can see past your act, you're desperate due to exhaustion." She looked ready to launch at him, but he kept his ground against her.

"I, _Chief Lector_ Kane, summoned you to defend Geb," Amos snarled. "If you desire it, I will allow you to kill me after you succeed in your duty."

My eyes widened to the thought, recalling when he only lasted eleven seconds against her. "_What_?" I snapped, but they paid no attention to my alarm.

Sekhmet grinned, not about to pass on a chance to get blood. "You place a large amount of faith into my helping. The only one that placed that kind of responsibility on my shoulders was Ra," she purred. "I will help you, Kane covered in blood. But I _will_ take you up on your offering as well." She must have been attracted to the red he was wearing in the first place to cause such a standoff.

"You will fight anyone that wishes harm on Geb and his host?" Amos didn't seem very trusting of her word, which only a fool would place trust in her to actually obey.

Sekhmet bowed to my uncle now, "Anything to taste the blood of the Eye of Set."

That seemed to earn his approval for a short second before he summoned another weak shield to stop another bolder from crushing them. I could feel the heat emanating from my face, pissed off by my uncle's choices during this fight. Pushes us to fight the giants, and then turns to a crazy cat to help protect Alyssa.

_We are needed to kill the giants,_ Isis explained, _otherwise we all die._

_Amos is sacrificing himself to a bloodthirsty lion. I think I have a right to be pissed off._ I snapped out of irritation as I slammed another ha-di spell at an incoming giant.

_There is more to it than that. Amos shares Set's capability of deception._ Isis tried to reassure, but I didn't let her words affect me as I focused on bring down the giant Annabeth was whacking at.


	74. Chapter 74

-Alyssa-

Once the second shield dropped, Amos looked rugged, almost leaning against his staff as his breath became heavy. Nevertheless, he still refused to show it, almost pissing me off. In the excitement of her upcoming award, Sekhmet did a fantastic job keeping the giants wanting to attack me at a good distance.

"Enough!" The largest giant's voice roared over us. "Focus on the earthy magician! Swat the others away," he instructed as he stood up from the ground again.

"You're quite popular today," Amos commented, sweat beading his forehead.

"Then we can focus on the Gods and their children. That girl restricts Gaia. Get her!" He pointed his spear towards me.

Thankfully, the giants were still being distracted by the demigods and magicians working even harder to keep them at bay. With the exception of this big guy. His eyes were focused on me alone, swatting a few Russian magicians out of the way. "Carter!" Jason screamed out. "Porphyrion is your bane, focus on him!"

A little ways out, Sekhmet managed to bring down a giant and lap up his blood. Once I took that in, she suddenly stopped and screamed. "Well, I was hoping she would be of more help," Amos sighed irritably as she transformed into Hathor, sleeping on top of the giant before disappearing.

"You planned for her lust of blood?" I took in the thought, after being quite angry that our Chief Lector would even go so low as to bring out such a maniac.

Amos didn't reply, instead he struggled to lift his staff and slammed it into the ground again. My eyes widened as I took in a spark of red magic emanating from his hand and shot around us to form an even stronger shield than the last two. I then took in that the large giant had made his way to us and tried to slam his feet on us, but the shield was strong enough to keep from breaking. It was starting to weaken when Jason and Carter finally got to him, distracting him from us finally.

I sighed in relief as Amos collapsed beside me. _You can save him,_ one of her two voices started eagerly.

Panicking, I forced myself not to listen to her, refusing to give to the Goddess. I instead pulled Porphyrion's feet back into the earth. _He sacrificed himself for a losing cause, how pathetic,_ she continued.

Upset and angered by the Goddess' hateful words, I went to roll Amos over. He was limp; drilling fear into me as I took in that his skin was steaming. Then Carter fell on his back ten feet away. I looked up to see that Porphyrion swatted Jason with his spear and went to grab me with his left hand. "Ignorant girl!" Vika's voice snarled as a blue shield blocked him. "Don't get distracted, that's what she wants."

"But Amos-" I started.

"Gave his life force for a good cause," she interrupted with strict eyes before slamming her staff into the ground, making it more solid under our feet.

My eyes widened to the sight, "You're an earth elementist too?"

"Keep quiet and focus on your responsibilities," Menshikov snarled, I took in that she planned to replace Amos in the fight. "Keep the earth stable for us. In fact, I suggest you yank these hideous things until they are neck deep if you can."

"I can barely get their feet under!" I complained.

"Then do the best you can, and stop whining!" She snapped.

Carter got to his feet again as I yanked the giant's feet back into a layer of mud. Vika responded with a wave of her hand, solidifying the mud just as quickly. "Dig out of that," she snapped.

Jason started summoning a storm around him, letting him levitate a bit over the ground. "I suggest you start using range Carter!" He warned.

**I wasn't able to find Alyssa's last name. If anyone knows, that would be awesome! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	75. Chapter 75

-Carter Kane-

I easily backed off, standing beside the Roman demigod as I caught my breath. _What the hell do I have that's ranged?_ I wondered.

_My fists, duh!_ Horus chided in too happy of a tone.

Sometimes it's nice to have a God to remind you of these things. So I ignored his arrogant attitude and started slamming hieroglyphs at him. The fifth one set Porphyrion on edge. "Fools, I am immune to your pathetic attacks!" He glared at us like a couple of pests, which I suppose we technically are.

"So you wish us to think," Jason chided, I could see his father in him pretty well. "Carter, on the count of three."

Porphyrion snarled towards him now, "Did you not learn from last time?"

"Three," Jason started.

"I'm unbeatable!" Porphyrion continued.

"Two,"

"You will all die like he has!" He laughed as he spread his arms towards where Alyssa and Amos stand.

"One," Grace spoke with eagerness.

I sent the hieroglyph towards the giant as Jason shot lightning at him. Both magical attacks exploded across the giant's skin as he screamed, echoing off Mount Olympus. Once the smoke cleared, his entire left shoulder was left vulnerable, skin bubbled and peeled away to reveal the third layer of skin, blackened from the lightning. Angry, he lifted his spear, which started to glow and threw it towards my Chief Lector and initiate.

I followed it to find it struck a bright blue shield. The color threw me off as Porphyrion snarled in complete distaste. "Don't get distracted-" Jason urged.

"Where's Amos?" I worried now, the blue shield seemed to purposely block out anyone from seeing through it.

"Two more hits and he's dead," Jason continued, "come on!"

I gave in and readied another painful strike on the arrogant giant.


	76. Chapter 76

-Amos Kane-

"Wait here," Anubis halted before the doors to the Hall of Judgment. "He'll call for you when he's done with his meeting. I must return to Walt, I'm sorry I can't-"

"It's alright," I waved off, "make sure they all stay safe for me."

He nodded before disappearing. Once I was alone, I managed to hear my brother's voice through the door, agitated and rising higher in volume the longer it continued. "I don't make the rules!" He snarled.

"Osiris," Set's voice alarmed me as I took a step closer, leaning my head towards the door now. However, the rest of his sentence was muffled.

Julius retaliated, and both of their voices rose, but I still could not make out a single word. I straightened as the door opened, my sister-in-law closing the door behind her as she shot me a distressed look. "Where did Anubis run off to?" She whispered.

"His host," I explained. "What's going on in there?"

She shook her head to loosen some of the agitation in her expression. "Osiris and Set having another argument," she summed up.

"Please don't tell me it's Set getting hung up on Osiris refusing to give up custody," I recalled the last few fights I stood witness to. "Isis and Horus are busy too; they can't get down here to break off their petty fighting."

Ruby hesitated, "Actually, they're arguing over you, Amos."

My eyebrows rose. "Do they know I'm standing right here?"

She rolled her eyes, "You know just as well as I do that when Julius fights, he is narrow-sighted. So I figured I would spare you the colorful talk they're having."

"Wait, you can still use magic?" I questioned.

"A bit, it's not much really, only cheap spells. You can still hear them even," she noted. "Just not audible."

Silence for a few seconds, Set's voice roaring past the door. "Did they not have a better topic?" I asked. "I'm certain the two of them see me at the same level."

Ruby smiled suddenly, "You're right; they do see you in the same light."

"He did _what_?" Julius's temper was hard to miss through the door this time. "Amos Kane, get your ass in here!"

Ruby closed her eyes and let her head hang a bit. "Just bite your tongue in there," she suggested as she gazed back at me. "He is still the Lord of the Afterlife, no matter your previous relation."

"Thanks for the reminder," I smiled towards her before opening the door.

The times I have visited, the Hall of Judgment is usually vacant. This time it looked like an entire counsel of Gods and even a few ghosts. But my eyes only focused on my brother's glare upon me as I slowly made my way towards the center of the room. Silence for half a minute before I shot my brother a curious look. "You called for me?" I decided to ask, even though everyone obviously knew the answer.

"Did you, or did you not, spend your life force on a shield?" His eyes narrowed.

"I did," I replied easily.

"What, you get so lazy that you forgot how to make one?" Desjardin's voice snarled. "You were an expert on them, even made some with a blink of your eyes!"

"Where's Anubis?" Disturber asked with interest. "And why did he not lead you in here?"

I sighed when I took in Set in the crowd as he stood up again. "I already fucking told you there is a fight going on above us!" He snapped.

Julius's eyes didn't leave me. "Michel's right. Was this like a shield for an entire Nome?" His tone tested, a visible warning to watch what I say next.

"I was protecting the host of Geb. Why is there a problem over that?" I wondered.

"All evidence pieces that you more than likely committed suicide, is why." Julius snarled. "And there's another problem."

"Damn straight there is!" Set decided to walk out of the crowd of Gods and now stood two feet away.

"Set," I scorned through clenched teeth. "This happens to be _my_ judgment, so run along."

Set peered at me for a few seconds. "It will be once Osiris stops being a vindictive ass."

"Heart?" Ammit licked his lips as he observed me from where he was sitting.

Julius rolled his eyes as he faced me again. "Set claims that he gave up his hosting when you summoned this shield."

My right eyebrow rose towards the Red Lord as he paced now. "If he did, I wasn't aware of it." I started. "And why does it matter?"

"It's a matter of if your life force was been spent or not." Set snarled towards me.

"Well I used it." I pointed out to him, earning disapproval from the crowd. "Now, can we please go through the usual proceedings?" I turned to Julius now, his eyes narrowed in reply.

"Amos," Julius' tone got colder than the actual hall, "do you not understand the consequences of suicide?"

Iskandar shot up from his seat now. "I suggest we review instead of pointing fingers." He directed towards Lord Osiris.

"Review what?" I wondered aloud. "And why are there ghosts here?"

Julius smirked now. "This happens to be a meeting reviewing your actions as Chief Lector. Usually we don't tolerate letting said person in the meetings."


	77. Chapter 77

-Jason Grace-

I could visibly tell that the Egyptian Pharaoh was distracted. I had noticed that the shield was now blue rather than red, but I obviously didn't understand what it meant. Thankfully, he continued fighting alongside me until Porphyrion turned out like a burnt oversized rock. He's lack of his spear was also handy, and he apparently couldn't retrieve it back from where it lay before the shield.

"Gaia will come back," he snarled towards me, "even if you defeat us today."

"I'm glad you can see it now," I continued, ready for another spark to strike him down with, "and you should trust me when I say we'll be ready for her."

Carter and I slammed him again, which he simply exploded into the golden dust. Once we took that in, Carter immediately approached the shield, which I noticed the place was now littered in the golden remnants of our enemies. In fact, everyone was now rushing towards the shield. I quickly followed route and watched the shield die to the Russian woman that had threatened us earlier standing beside Alyssa.

"Now, banishing Geb," Vika Menshikov started. "I believe our Chief Lector planned to do so himself, but I will have to be the next best thing."

"Where's Amos?" Carter snarled, ready to use his sword against her.

Alyssa cried in reply as Vika hesitated to move to her left a little. This revealed the familiar crimson clothed man lying motionless behind them. My eyes widened as Carter quickly placed his sword against the older woman's throat.

"Carter, stop!" Walt snapped as he took a step closer.

"She killed him so she could take lead, Stone," Carter defended. "As Pharaoh, I shall execute you myself!"

The woman narrowed her eyes to him now, "Your uncle sacrificed his life force to protect the host of Geb. I just took his place once he recklessly did so."

"Then why is his body still here?" Sadie piped up. "If he did, he would have evaporated by now."

Vika gave her an interested look now. "And when have _you_ seen this occur?"

"We've witnessed it twice," Carter explained. "Desjardins and Kwai."

"Carter!" Alyssa snapped through her tears. "I was standing beside him when he did so."

Jaz, the magician healer, approached the Chief Lector and checked for a pulse before placing her hand on his forehead. "You kill her; you make enemies of the Eighteenth Nome again," An older Russian man snarled, staff ready for a fight.

"Please, stop!" A young boy with a heavy accent stepped between the older man and the Pharaoh.

"Carter, we need to banish Geb," Walt reminded.

"Yes we do, and then we can discuss Kane," Vika supported despite the fact that the Pharaoh's sword is resting just below her chin. "I found a shabti of Geb on Amos," she pulled out a small clay figure of a goose.

Sadie quickly took this from her and observed it for a second. "Carter, lower your sword," Sadie scuffed towards her older brother. "You plan to banish Geb yourself?" She asked Vika.

Menshikov rolled her eyes out of irritation, "I watched Amos stand in the background of the fight. I think that is proof enough that he isn't arrogant like Set. I will banish Geb, if you allow it." She directed the last bit towards Carter now, who hesitated to lift his sword from her throat.

Sadie handed the 'shabti' back to the woman. Carter glared towards his sister now. "Have you done excretion spells before?" He asked her now.

"Now that is a dumb question to be asking a Menshikov," Sadie scolded.

"Agreed," Vika supported. "Alyssa is in good hands. Now please, keep at a good distance."

Sadie and Jaz grabbed Amos and managed to drag him five feet away as we all kept at about the same distance from the two. Urgently, Annabeth rushed towards them, which I decided to follow close behind her. "-no magic, and no fresh physical injuries that could have killed him," Jaz explained as Sadie knelt beside her uncle, crying. "Menshikov is speaking the truth."


	78. Chapter 78

-Carter Kane-

Vika Menshikov had a bit of a fight with Gaia, for she quickly transformed the ground into mud under their feet. In reply, Vika gently tapped her staff to the ground to solidify it, and continued the chant before slamming the shabti to the ground and stepped on it. A horrible scream escaped Alyssa's throat as she crumpled to the ground. I rushed towards them and knelt beside Alyssa.

"You okay?" I asked as I helped her sit up.

"Have a headache now," she admitted as she braced her head with her right hand.

"You're a very brave girl, Alyssa," Vika supported as she offered her hand to help her stand.

"Thank you," Alyssa started towards her once she dusted her clothes off a bit.

I shot Vika a nasty glare as Menshikov just nodded towards her. "Now, I assume you wish to punish me for your uncle's death," she turned to me now. "Execution or banishment?"

My head pounded as I took in her acceptance of the fact. "Carter," Walt approached as quickly as he could, "there's something weird going on with Amos. Anubis just went to see for himself."

"What are you talking about?" I hesitated to ask.

"From what Anubis was telling me, he sacrificed his life force," Walt continued. "However, as you can see, his body is still here. Something about a meeting taking too long."

"Meeting?" Vika questioned. "He's supposed to be judged, not having a counsel."

Walt nervously laughed to that, "That's what he said; I don't know anything else on the matter."


	79. Chapter 79

**Okay, this chapter has bits and pieces from my Kane Chronicles fanfic "The World in the Eyes of Amos Kane". So if you're confused, don't be shy and check it out!**

-Amos Kane-

"What of the Red Pyramid incident in Phoenix?" Disturber added. "Where Set was played a fool and almost let Apophis free? Wouldn't have happened if the San Francisco mess was cleared up with banishment on his hosting of Smith."

"Whoa, I was _there_ myself!" Julius snapped. "It's not like we didn't try or anything."

"And Amos had _no_ control of Set's actions. He could barely signal warnings to the kids he was leading!" Michel added. "It's not his fault that Apophis had _repeatedly_ tried to use Amos to free himself."

"Vladimir Menshikov was eaten for the simple fact _of_ aiding Apophis, along with Sarah Jacobi and Kwai. Why does Amos Kane get special treatment?" Disturber snarled.

"Because the two of us fought against the snake when he did escape," Set defended. "And then we kept peace over the Per Ankh since then."

The door opened to Anubis walking in, his eyes to the floor as Osiris watched him with dagger-like eyes. "And where have you been?" He snapped.

"I was aiding my host in the battle for Mount Olympus." Anubis faced me finally, "We won, with a casualty."

_A_ casualty, meaning me of course. I nodded towards him out of thankfulness. Julius peered at me as I faced my brother again. "May I add that I am interrupting your _very_ prolonged meeting to point out that Amos' body has yet to dissolve?"

"What?" Michel stood up now. "He spent his life force though!"

"Thank you for bringing that up!" Set chided towards his son. "I want to bring up again that I gave up my hosting when he made his shield. You idiots don't seem to understand that."

Julius snarled towards him now as I gave him a curious look myself. "Care to explain what you mean by that?" I finally gave in.

Set snarled at me now, "You can't honestly tell me you don't know."

Julius gave him an interested look now. "So, let's get to discussing an exchange if you will allow it," Set started towards his brother. "During the confusion, Amos ended up spending his life force and leaving the magic I left him with when I disbanded. In other words, a waste on his part."

"Suicide!" Disturber roared.

"Not getting what you're saying," Julius snarled.

Set grinned, "I pulled it back with the magic I left him with."

Silence in the room for a minute. "I'm pretty sure you can't do that," I started.

"Well too bad Kane, I did," Set boasted. "So technically, _you're_ still alive."

"Obviously not, he's here at this very moment," Michel pointed out.

"Yeah, in ba form," Set rolled his eyes now. "That's where we discuss an exchange." Set turned to Osiris now, "I propose you send Amos back, in return I swear to never make contact with him again."

Julius had a conflicted expression now. "We just started the meeting-" He pointed out.

"That wouldn't have happened if you had listened in the first place," Set added.

My thoughts were mixed up with anger and yet appreciation towards the pest of a God standing beside me. "Julius," A familiar feminine voice spoke up.

I turned to see Caroline standing beside Iskandar and Michel, eyes focused on my brother. "If what Set says is true, you should take him up on the offer."

"I second that," Ruby's voice added. "Someone has to have expertise in cleaning up the mess that is diplomacy and continue raising our kids."

"No one is better than Amos at diplomacy," Michel supported with a wild grin towards me. "Though he has his idiotic moments."

"Silence!" Iskandar scorned. "Despite your words, it is _still_ Amos' decision on if he should take his second chance or not."

Everyone's eyes landed on me, which I stood in alarm for a minute, my head spinning to everything going on. "Honey," A familiar voice started from another ghost that slowly made her way towards the center of the room, "don't think too hard on it. Just follow your heart."

I froze as I finally managed to remember her, though she never really was the type to reassure me, just defend against her husband when he was in a foul mood. "Mother?" I called just to make sure.

"Well, this is turning into a weird day," Set commented.

Our mother rolled her eyes, "May I point out that a gift from the God of Chaos isn't something that should be taken lightly?" She continued despite the commotion going on around us.

I smirked towards her now, "Trust me, I know."

She smiled and leaned in to kiss my forehead, "You did an amazing thing today, giving yourself to save her. However, I believe the world still needs you to point them in the right way."

Set smirked. "Yeah, he knows that," he confirmed to her. "So, have you decided?"


	80. Chapter 80

-Carter Kane-

We waved the Eighteenth Nome goodbye, leaving on good terms of course. Once I managed to settle my thoughts, Vika stood innocent no matter what I see of it. Therefore, I apologized, which she simply waved off and promised to see me at the next meeting.

"Carter," Sadie hesitated to started, "how should we bury him?"

I sighed and turned to see the demigods and our initiates still lingering around him, mourning. "I'm not sure," I admitted, my voice wanting to break. "I don't even want to think about the mess we are in."

Sadie attacked me with a hug, crying on my shoulder. I hesitated out of alarm, but started rubbing her back out of reassurance as I started to cry myself.

"Is this the way we wanted to celebrate such a fantastic victory?" My eyes widened as I turned to see him grinning towards us.

"How the-" I started.

"Let's just say a long list of family members got pissed off and sent me back," he summed up.

And, well, both my sister and I tackled our uncle in response, nothing else needed to be said. Apparently, Jason and Percy suggested camping on the mountainside, probably the best idea with how tired everyone has been over the past few days. Moreover, it gave all three of us a chance to bond even more before we go our separate ways.

Sadie was pulled away from us by Hazel and Piper, leaving Amos and I by the fire he made. A few feet away we could hear Walt and Felix playing freeze tag with a good portion of the demigods. And Felix was taking it literally by making a sheet of ice for everyone to slip on.

"I see that Vika didn't want to hang around any longer than she needed to," Amos started.

"Um, funny story with that," I started nervously.

His right eyebrow rose questioningly, "You didn't-"

"She took your place protecting Alyssa," I started, "and you were just lying at their feet. I jumped to conclusions." I sighed as I poked a stick into the fire. "I apologized once it settled though. She seemed like she didn't care."

Amos smirked a little. "Vika is far more forgiving than her older brothers," he informed. "She had to be to get to where she is."

"Brothers?" My eyes widened to the thought of more Menshikovs.

He rolled his eyes. "She's the only one left, calm down," he reassured. "Anyways, I'm glad to see we can keep on good terms like this," he admitted as Frank transformed into a penguin to sneak on Felix.

"I'm surprised they still have energy after the fight," I added.

Amos laughed a bit. "You're young; you can run around after a long fight like this," he added. "This is a good sign too; you may have achieved the impossible again."

"You mean we," I corrected.

He rolled his eyes in reply, "I'm not the one who figured it possible if you remember."

Silence with the exception of Felix screaming to a penguin chasing him, more than likely Frank. "You let Julius take credit for everything, didn't you?" I asked, peering over to Amos as his gaze stayed on the fire before us.

"It's the job of the younger siblings to support the oldest," Amos replied. "Sadie knows, it's something you just accept with a shrug and pat your own back."

"Making your comment about Julius being an ass ten times more accurate," I recalled our talk in the Hall of Ages.

Amos faced me with a hard look, "You shouldn't be talking so badly of your father, Carter. And I only _called_ him that because he has a nasty habit of rubbing salt in the wound."

We left the topic at that, I really don't like agitating Amos, especially with Set around. He reached out with his right hand to let it hover over the flames. "We have a long couple of days ahead of us."

His tone sounded sad, which my eyes saddened in reply, "Yeah, but at least peaceful."


	81. Chapter 81

-Percy Jackson-

Coach called everyone to dinner. Well, let us just say there was a grand amount of disappointment. He gathered dried grass and some scrap metal Leo didn't find a use for at the current time. "Why are you all complaining? This is far more nutritious compared to that junk food you people like!"

"Maybe the grass, but I highly doubt the scrap metal," Amos chuckled.

"What are _you_ talking about?" Coach snorted.

"I'm stating that eating such a thing is actually the opposite of 'nutritious'," Amos kept his ground with good humor towards the satyr pawing his right hoof against the ground in irritation. "Carter, Sadie, I have something I think you two would like to learn," Amos turned to his nephew and niece now.

"Exhausted and still wants to play teacher," Walt rolled his eyes as Amos whispered in their ears, which their eyes lit up.

"Wait, that's how the buffet table is always full?" Sadie directed towards him, which he simply grinned.

"Give it a try, think of anything and use it," Amos suggested.

Carter went first, using a boomerang as he chanted a sentence in I think Egyptian. A bright golden hieroglyph burn in the sky above his wand, and then drifted towards the wooded table we had taken from Argo II. It then formed into bowl of leafy salad.

"Very good," Amos supported, obviously enjoying being in the teaching role. "Sadie, I'm sure you are probably brewing something to top your brother, right?"

She grinned wildly in reply as she chanted the same, same colored hieroglyph that instead transformed into a platter of hamburgers. "Well, looks like Sades chose the main course," Walt grinned towards his girlfriend, who only blushed in reply.

Everyone sat around the campfire, us demigods sacrificing some food to our parent. "So, Jackson, Grace," Amos started as a few headed to bed. "You _do_ realize that we have to arrange a meeting?"

"We do?" I straightened my posture.

"Well, it would be a good idea," Carter continued. "Two of each?"

"Yeah, that will be fine," Jason answered easily.

"Two of what?" I asked, which earned an amused chuckle from the only adult on the mountain with us.

"Two representatives of each camp," he clarified.

"Oh, yeah," I quickly answered, embarrassed that I couldn't even catch that.

"What will we be discussing?" Jason asked.

"Boundaries, Gods, maybe even training," Carter listed eagerly.

"You may be getting carried away," Amos pointed out to his nephew. "Just boundaries are a big topic to take on for a meeting. And you _realize_ that we have a meeting with the Nome leaders that will come up as well?"

"Oh no, Vika will be there too-" Carter paled.

Amos waved it off, "She'll understand."

Carter shot him a questioning look. "Well, it will take a good amount of explaining with it, but she'll just have to accept the fact that she is still ranked number five," Amos added. "And quite honestly you should be more concerned about _this_ meeting rather than the Nomes."

"You sound like you know what to expect," I pointed out.

Amos gave a nervous smile, "When you're the boundary runner, you tend to know what will occur when encountering the other."

"Boundary runner?" Jason wondered with the rest of us.

"Manhattan and Brooklyn are not that far away," Amos reminded. "And for a time, I was the only magician in the Twenty-First Nome. So yes, I was guarding the Egyptian side just as much as Chiron is guarding Manhattan."

Jason whistled to the thought, "At least we don't have conflicting boundaries like that."

"I bet you probably do," Amos corrected swiftly, "San Francisco, right?"

Jason froze as I laughed, "Jason, the Egyptians as global."

"Now that I've mentioned it, may want to contact them," Amos dryly noted. "Of course, after we explain everything when we get back." Carter nodded out of hesitation.

"Sounds like you guys need a break," I pointed out.

"It's going to be a large mess we're swimming in when we gain contact again," Carter confirmed. "Mainly on the topic of what happened to us."

"Leave it to me; no one seems to question my word anyways," Amos continued.

"Because you host Set," Carter added, which Jason and I both nodded in support.

Amos frowned to that. "He isn't that bad."

"He's pretty scary when he wants to be," Jason continued.

"You said something about the Gods?" I returned to Carter.

"Well, they are going to throw an awfully big temper to us shaking hands with you two," Amos confirmed. "Then again, they still hate the Per Ankh, so one more thing to the list is nothing new."

"Camp Jupiter is going to be a mess when I get back," Jason complained. "It may be awhile before they will tolerate us attending a meeting."

"Chiron will have a fit too," I added.

"I guess we have it easy," Carter finalized.

Amos was lost in thought for a moment, leaving silence as we watched the fire dance. "Carter, you know that your parents are going to want to see you two," he started quietly.

Carter sighed. "Good or bad terms?"

"I trust it will be on good," Amos smiled a little. "After all, Julius was never the type to yell unless it's because he's being protective."


	82. Chapter 82

-Sadie Kane-

Sunrise came slowly, Amos urging that we walk to the nearest museum to head home. The demigods planned to travel back on the Argo II, something about Leo being unwilling to ditch it. We packed up and started saying our goodbyes. Annabeth, Hazel, Piper, and I exchanged addresses to keep contact. Leo managed to hunt down my uncle to test out a saxophone he managed to make last night. And the Twenty-First Nome exchanged laughs and hugs with the demigods, a sign that coming along was completely worth it.

"Maybe we can do a group date," Piper suggested.

"Make that a picnic then, I highly doubt a fancy restaurant will want to put up with us," Annabeth humored.

"That sounds like an awesome idea," Hazel supported.

"Sometime next month?" I offered. "Hopefully nothing comes up that would urge me out of Brooklyn."

"Agreed," Annabeth smiled. "That sounds great, we'll further details along the way then. Just have to pitch the idea to the guys."

"Alright, I can't wait," I grinned and exchanged hugs with them. "See you girls later then!"

I strolled casually towards my uncle, who was comparing notes with Leo on the saxophone model. "You may actually want to get rid of this extra weight on the side," he gestured to the left side of it, which looked beyond complex. "Don't need that much metal to ensure it works. In fact, I think it's probably doing the opposite."

Leo quickly scribbled notes on a small notepad. "And, once you get the chance, you are going to want cork where the mouthpiece connects," Amos added as he observed the saxophone again. "Now you've struck my musical side. Are you planning on taking up saxophone?"

Leo nodded towards him now, eager eyes, "It's just a matter of if I can control my fire-hand problem."

Amos nodded in understanding, "You and Walt have something in common then. You'll adjust eventually, no matter how many saxophones you go through to stop setting them on fire." He gently handed the saxophone back to him, which Leo took with great care. "You have a talent; don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Building a saxophone in a night takes a great amount of skill, skill that I have never seen anyone have."

Leo blushed to the compliment. "Thank you for the help," he added, which Amos nodded.

Leo left for the Argo II, probably to put the saxophone away. "You have a big fan," I teased my uncle.

"It's rare to come upon a devoted fan of Jazz," Amos smirked at me knowingly, which I blushed guiltily. "But a general fan of music is a friend of mine no matter what genre."

**Big shout out to fellow musicians!**

**So, another question. What is your favorite music genre?**

**I say I love everything. Metal, Alternative, Classical, Dubstep, Jazz, you name it I probably have it on my ipod. But to pick one, it would be Alternative because of the very first CD I received, ****_Weathered_**** by Creed.**

**I'm thinking I will finish up the chapters for this story today. I have little one-shots I want to post up soon that follow after these events.**


	83. Chapter 83

-Kyra Teal-

Khufu entered the library in an urgent manner. I attempted to ignore him; he has been like that for some time. I was starting to wonder if it was worry from the kids he is used to. Cleo perked up after a moment, Khufu jumping onto my desk and grunted a few times. "_How_ does Amos study with you getting in his face?" I snapped out of slight irritation.

He stopped and blinked at me a few times before grunting again. Cleo stood up and approached now. "What is it?" She asked him.

Khufu yanked the book from my hands and closed it before grunting more towards me. I sat back and gave him a blank look, still not understanding what he is saying. "They're here?" Cleo asked with excitement.

I perked up to that, wondering how she managed to speak baboon in the first place and what she meant by 'they'. Cleo didn't give me a chance to ask when she instead bolted out of the library, Khufu following close behind. Curiosity was killing me, so I hesitated to leave the library and followed the baboon, who was now swinging from light to light. Honestly, how has my cousin gone this long without killing him?

"We're home!" Sadie's familiar voice rang in the Great Room.

I picked up my pace and leaned against the doorway to see the children that accompanied my second cousin pour in. "Welcome back, Sadie," I greeted with a large smile, though I was dreading having to talk to her about the rest of our family. "Alyssa, I'm glad to see you managed to find them," I smiled towards her as well.

"It wasn't hard, I found them in Seattle," she shrugged off, which my eyes darted towards Sadie.

Sadie just grinned towards me, odd for someone who should be concerned about missing relatives. "So, I suppose you kept the Per Ankh on their toes while we took our break?" Amos' asked as he and Carter entered now.

My eyes widened out of alarm, both of them simply smiling towards me. I quickly approached Amos and slapped him. "You really are a pain, you know that?" I snapped, though I could not hide the joy I was feeling in my smile.

"Is that it?" He smirked towards me. "I'm disappointed Kyra."

"My bow needs adjusting, so you're lucky," I replied.

Then Khufu tackled Amos. I should probably take my comment back about being lucky as Khufu searched him as if looking for some sort of wound or maybe food ending in O. "I missed you too," Amos laughed as he stood up.

The children went to their rooms to unpack everything, leaving the baboon, my cousin, and I in the Great Room. "Oh, and Sadie fixed up the Seattle House," Amos started, "making Carter's evacuation void."

"What the hell happened?" I asked now; worry taking hold of my voice. "All I saw was Carter fighting her and got dragged into the floor."

Amos thought for a second. "I apparently came upon some valuable information," he summed up.

My eyes narrowed, which he nervously laughed. "Even when you read _books_ you get in trouble!" I scolded. "I'm glad to see everyone is okay," I calmed down anyways.

"We're not done yet," Amos frowned.

"I know, you have a large list of meetings to organize next," I finished. "Also, I received a call from a magician in London. Something about a host."

Amos' expression hardened. "They prefer the word wizard/witch," he reminded for the fifth time already, "and it's about time they called back."

"Well, she said something about being busy protecting her Nome from him. They did apparently kill him, so that's one less problem to put up with," I continued.

Amos smirked, "Kyra, I already figured that out since we managed to banish Apophis without them contacting us. I suppose I'll arrange a meeting with them as well."

"For now, though, you should take a day off," I suggested quickly.

"I was already planning on it," he quickly reassured.

**Omygosh! It is done!**

**I may go through this story again and combine some of the chapters though. I didn't realize how big this really was going to get, and there are a good number of short chapters.**

**Thank you for reading! I will be posting one-shots now. Review and tell me what you think? Please?**

**Again, Thank you.**


End file.
